How do you ensure the success of your law firm? How can you guarantee your survival, and perhaps more importantly your profitable growth, when you have so many factors to control?
If you have staff, they need some management.
Clients – they definitely need management.
Accounts – someone has to ensure that you are complying with the Solicitors Accounts Rules, and that really ultimately has to be you.
Then there is the marketing of your practice to ensure that all of the above are kept busy or need to be managed.
So how do you manage all of this?
I hope that the way that I do some things might help you, because it has certainly helped me.
When I was a litigation solicitor, deadlines were quite important. It was kind of implied by the firms I worked with, and the court, that I really ought to do my best not to miss them, or there might be some really quite nasty consequences.
Now this is all well and good if you are a person who was born to be a solicitor. Someone who sweats the detail and loves the detail. If that is you, litigation is a dream.
But what happens if you are a marketer trapped inside a litigator’s body? Well, it is only recently that I have looked back at how I used to work and realised what I did, as that was definitely the position I was in at the time.
I also realise that I now do exactly the same in my marketing business too – and I really think it might help you.
I managed myself out of the process – completely or as much as was humanly possible.
In terms of litigation, this meant that I created multiple diary notes for each deadline that was not to be missed. Working back from the deadline date, I would map out when all of the things that needed to be done to make the final deadline happen would need to be completed by, to ensure that the final deadline then took care of itself.
I knew that if I just left the one final deadline, I would miss the limitation date. Details schmetails.
So I managed myself out of the process. If I could outsource myself from the process, I would do that as quickly as possible. Witness statements – instruct enquiry agent to collect them for me – check. Particulars of claim need drafting – counsel can do that – check. Medical report – instructed – check.
I knew if I left myself to do everything, something would go badly wrong.
In 14 years of litigation, I did not miss a deadline. That, to me, now that I understand my core skills (which are not details) is a small miracle.
As I say, it is only recently I looked back on this and thought how on earth did I survive litigation? When a client starts talking to me now about their client files I come out in a cold sweat. Being a solicitor was just not my strength, but by managing myself out of the process I made myself a competent, possibly even a good solicitor.
I do the same now in my business. I am not a huge fan of the telephone in terms of making outbound calls. Don’t get me wrong, if you want to talk marketing with me, I can do so gladly, but not if I have to dial out.
So I have an online diary system, and if a client or potential client would like to talk with me they pick a time from my online diary, otherwise it will not happen. I do not have the time or inclination generally for ‘ad hoc’ calls. I am too busy helping clients or writing content or doing any of a number of about 100 things that I need to do (just like you do).
For your law firm, how can you use this knowledge and manage yourself out of the process?
If I could put my finger on the one thing that stops a law firm owner from making huge progress it would be that they are too involved in the day to day running of their business. They can become embroiled in any one of the 100 issues that they need to deal with on a daily basis to ensure that their practice keeps rolling.
So if at the end of a day I ask them to list down all of the positive, productive things that they have achieved that day in terms of growing their practice, they are often unable to put anything on the list. Ouch. How can you expect your law firm to grow if you spend no time fertilising it, turning over the soil or watering it?
If you want to change how your law firm looks, and how successful it is, my best advice for you is that you absolutely have to manage yourself out of the process. Failure to do so guarantees only one thing – muddling along as you are now.
Do you really want to muddle along, or would you like to see real success and real, consistent growth?
As we are now half way through the year, it’s a good time to make a choice, and then to start doing something about it.
If I can help you in any way, then I will be delighted to. I see my job as to save law firm owners from mediocrity and push them towards a much more fulfilled and enriched business and life; often the one they dreamed about when they originally set up their legal practice. Can I help you to do that?
If this has made you think in any way, shape or form, please don’t just go straight back to what you were doing, or to managing your law firm. Take a look out of the window, make a list of the things that you know that you should be doing but never get around to, and plan some diary time to make them happen.
Ready To Take Action And See Results Now?
Please call 0117 290 8555 to arrange a mutually convenient time for a telephone discussion, Email me or complete a Free Online Enquiry. There is no cost or obligation. We will have a chat about where you are and where you would like to be and I will suggest some things you can do to get there quickly.