Law Practice Management Asked and Answered Blog
Category: business models
Sep 03, 2013
Successful Law Firms – What Are They Doing Right?
Question:
Our firm is a 12 attorney firm in Dallas. Our practice areas are business transaction and litigation. We also have an active energy practice. The past two years have been difficult for us financially. What are some of the successful firms doing right?
Response:
In spite of the recent economic woes many small firms have still done well. Many of these firms were those that:
- Were focused
- Had a sense of where they were and where they were heading
- Had a vision and a strategy
- Had business and financial plans
- Had goals and measured attainment
- Fostered accountability from self and others
- Were proactive
- Worked the books and managed the RULES (Rate, Utilization, Leverage, Expense Control, Collection Speed)
I believe that law firms that fail to focus their practices, set goals, measure accomplishments, and foster accountability will fall short and not meet their financial objectives. Law firms that fail to plan are planning to fail.
Law firms as well as solo practices need to begin focusing their firms and practices, setting firm and individual production goals, measure accomplishment and implementing systems to instill accountability from all members of the team – attorneys and staff alike.
What gets measured is what gets done.
Click here for our blog on law firm strategy
Click here for my article on business planning
John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC
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