Best Law Firm Practices

1.) Defining Your Core: Mission, Vision, and Values

You must define your mission, vision, and values. Your entire organization must be aware of where you are headed and why. These elements need to be well-written on your website, clearly defined, and further articulated by your line managers. Whether you are a line manager or a staff attorney, ensure you ask your leader about the organization’s mission, vision, and values.

For this journey to be successful, everyone needs to be on the same page. These principles must be articulated, emphasized, and reiterated in your onboarding sessions, employee improvement plans, performance evaluations, and staff meetings, among others. This is unique to your organization and its image. Stick to it and embrace it.

2.) Goal Setting: Crafting a Roadmap for Success

You must establish set yearly goals – whether it’s an improvement in processes, an increase in marketing spend, hiring additional personnel, or achieving financial growth.

These goals should be clearly defined and articulated to the entire organization at the end or beginning of the new year. They must be set for execution by both the leadership team and individuals. If your management team does not conduct these “gatherings,” please make a formal request.

3.) Standard Operating Procedures: The Blueprint for Consistency

The organization must have a system that everyone can follow, from answering phones and completing intakes to onboarding, case processing, and training. Everything needs to be clearly documented in Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

Once documented, it’s easier to delegate tasks, train employees, and hold the team accountable. It’s important to have different systems in place, such as for client attraction, phone answering, and case processing, each using a specific format. Never assume that if it’s clear to you, it’s clear to everyone, especially new hires. Turnover is inevitable, but it can be predictable. I will provide further detail shortly.

4.) Strategic Hiring: Staffing the Right Team for Success

You must know who you are and how to hire correctly.

Prioritize attitude over skillset when hiring. Ensure that your team possesses personality qualities suited for the job they are expected to perform. Strategic hiring is crucial for reaching the firm’s full potential and ensuring candidates can meet set expectations.

For instance, a lawyer who enjoys drafting may not excel at networking, whereas a lawyer who enjoys business development might struggle with writing a brief.

Set your team members up for success and avoid expecting them to excel at everything. Create departments for specific roles and tasks. Conduct personality tests to minimize errors in hiring.

5.) Execution Matters: From Plans to Action

We are not here solely to share information and take notes, correct? You can have a recipe, but someone still needs to cook. As a business owner and entrepreneur, it is crucial to identify those who will execute tasks and remain committed to the mission, vision, and values.

Misalignment with certain employees can lead to separation, making it essential to identify discrepancies early on.

6.) Weekly Team Engagement: The Power of Communication

Hold weekly staff and department meetings. You must convene with your team members weekly for effective communication.

Your Practice Manager, Managing Attorney, and Team Leaders should conduct these brief meetings where everyone has the opportunity to receive updates, discuss goals and deliverables, make announcements, address recent issues, and set goals to resolve concerns accordingly.

7.) Elevating Your Firm: The Role of Effective Management

Your business must have effective management, and no, it’s not just the Office Manager with a background in management.

Your law firm manager, your Office Coordinator, is the person who safeguards your interests and understands what’s happening with your vision, marketing, accounting, front end, and back-end operations.

The ideal candidate for this role is someone with previous legal management experience, a degree in finance or accounting, and, most importantly, a deep understanding of how a law firm should operate while meeting legal and ethical standards.

Once your firm reaches a certain threshold, you’ll require a Chief Operating Officer (COO). Having a COO might seem costly, but it’s necessary to have someone on the team who can hold everyone accountable while allowing the owner to focus on their role as CEO and Owner.

At this stage, bringing in an outside consultant is often the most optimal solution.

Engaging a consultant with a proven track record in similar situations can lead to rapid growth, the implementation of effective solutions, the development of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), and the establishment of accountability within the team—all without incurring the expense of a six-figure salary, which is common for a COO.

8.) Measuring Success: KPIs and Accountability

KPIs and deadlines are essential. You must track all employee activity, and more importantly, you must establish deadlines for EVERYTHING. Without a deadline, your goal is merely a wish.

All tasks must be quantitatively tracked with defined deadlines in place. Every deadline you assign must be met, just like the deadlines imposed by the court.

9.) Financial Health: The Lifeblood of Your Practice

Focus on cash flow and understand the value of your time. Track your time and comprehend its value alongside cash flow, even in a flat fee environment – time tracking remains essential.

Your law firm exists to generate revenue. It’s not just about practicing law; without cash flow, you don’t have a business.

Evaluate your cash flow regularly and ensure that you have more money coming in than going out. I strongly recommend providing financial visibility to everyone at the firm so that the team can help achieve the set goals mentioned earlier.

10.) Lead Generation: Innovative Strategies for Growth

To achieve your financial goals, it’s essential to explore new methods of attracting leads. Consider hiring a marketing strategist or consultant who understands your market and knows your audience. Collaborate on research and planning together.

11.) Collections Management: Keeping Cash Flow Steady

Collections – Never fall behind on your billing. Send out invoices regularly and hold weekly docket meetings. Ensure that you do not attend hearings when billing is overdue.

Trust accounts are not replenished if the firm operates on a billable environment, and invoices must be paid promptly for firms in a flat fee environment.

Make it a rule for everyone to monitor client billing, and be stringent with staff and clients regarding collections. Establish a dedicated department to oversee collections and strive to keep aging invoices to a minimum.

12.) Setting Ruthless Goals: Accountability and Achievement

Set goals and do so ruthlessly. Hold people accountable. Allow them to provide input and make sure they understand that meeting metrics is essential to keeping their jobs. Establish a reward system to recognize their levels of achievement. Trust me, by doing so, the team will not need reminders to get the job done.

13.) Building a Strong Team: The Foundation of Success

The foundation of any successful law practice lies in understanding that you’re only as strong as your team. Hiring professionals to assist you is crucial. Reflect on the difference between a smart person and a genius: a smart person learns from their own mistakes, while a genius learns from the mistakes of others.

In today’s session, the goal is to inform, inspire, and most importantly, to have a significant impact. Recognizing and embracing our differences is essential. Understanding and learning more about ourselves enable us to create a fair exchange.

14.) Enhancing Communication: The Key to Leadership Effectiveness

As leaders, we continue our journey to acquire knowledge and develop our technical skills and communication abilities. When our team fails to deliver, it’s crucial to assess our effectiveness as communicators and seek ways to improve.

We must ask ourselves who can assist us in enhancing our communication skills. We must also identify obstacles, including our own roles within the firm.

Are we merely operators, or do we possess the vision and drive to lead? Understanding our strengths and weaknesses allows us to tailor our approach to business growth effectively.

15.) Harnessing Technology: Tools for Operational Excellence

Technology serves as our ally in the legal industry. Platforms like MyCase, Case Peer, and Kenect provide invaluable analytics crucial to our business operations. When assessing your organization, consider whether you are building a strength-based structure.

Recognize that not everyone excels at drafting or sales. Establishing specialized departments is essential; expecting a single lawyer to handle all tasks, from selling to litigation and drafting, is impractical.

It’s crucial to remember that every law firm is unique. As you expand, your journey will necessitate modifications to your KPIs and departments. Ultimately, the goal is to execute strategies and witness tangible results. Success transcends meeting basic KPIs; it entails fostering a culture of growth and positivity.

Each team member should have a defined path to success aligned with their individual aspirations. Let us embrace change, prioritize growth, and witness success unfold organically.