Law Practice Management Asked and Answered Blog

Category: Keeping

Dec 31, 2019

Law Firm Management – What Will Be Keeping Owners and Managing Partner Awake at Night in 2020

Question:

I am the owner of a twelve attorney business litigation law firm in Northern, California. I started the firm fourteen years ago after practicing ten years in a large law firm. While the practice has been fulfilling both professionally and financially, the management side is often a challenge. As I sit here on December 31, 2019 thinking about management challenges that I may face next year I was wondering what you envision the challenges will be in 2020.

Response:

The following were the common challenges that owners and managing partners advised us that they faced in 2019:

Talent Management – Attorneys and Staff
1. Hiring
2. Training
3. Motivating
4. Compensating
5. Keeping (retaining)
Firm Succession and Transition
Getting and Keeping Clients and Additional Sources of Business
Managing Cash Flow
Satisfying Hard to Please Clients
Balancing Time Between Servicing Clients and Managing the Firm
Getting Paid
Competition from Other Law Firms and Non-Law Firm Service Providers
Proving High Quality Legal Services at an Affordable Price and Avoiding Malpractice Claims
Finding Time for Personal Life and Family

In 2019 the number one challenge was talent management and I believe this will continue to be the case in 2020. The other challenges that I have listed will continue to be the major concerns of owners and managing partners in 2020.

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John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC

Dec 06, 2016

Law Firm Client Development – Getting and Keeping Clients – Roles for Associates

Question:

Our firm is a twenty two lawyer insurance defense firm in Seattle. Over the years we have told our associates that they were hired to work on firm business and there was no requirement for them to develop or bring in client business. In fact we specifically asked them not to bring in business. Now we are rethinking that policy. Many of our equity partners are retiring and we are finding we have a group of grinders – with very few minders or finders capable of either retaining existing clients or bringing in new clients. What are your thoughts?

Response:

Over the years, I have seen many law firms hire associates and tell them that there is plenty of work and they are hired to service the firm’s work and there is no need, or even desire, for them to develop and bring client business into the firm. For years, these associates meet their billable hour expectations, work their files, and get good results on their cases. Twenty years later they are still associates – what went wrong? What are they not equity partners? Often it is because they have not developed client business.

Successful lawyers in private practice must not only do excellent legal work for their clients they must also develop client business. I believe that each attorney must invest money and time in building and promoting their expertise, professional reputation, and their personal brand. Law firms should not only encourage but should require, support, and fund (money and non-billable time) marketing/business development at the individual attorney level. Client development skills have to be developed and practiced early on.

Due to your client base (insurance companies) it may not be that easy for associates to actually bring in new clients unless the firm is diversifying into other practice areas (unless that is your goal). However, they can start by being good minders – client relationship managers – and work on getting more business from existing clients and maintaining client relationships that the firm has.

Client Development is externally focused – relationship management is more internally focused.

Skills for developing new clients and those needed for maintaining good relations are not the same.

While you associates will each have different abilities they should be honing their skills in one of the following areas:

Rainmakers – win new business from new clients and their strength is networking.They serve on boards, attend events, play golf, and entertain clients; prospective clients.

Hired Guns – win new business from new clients – emphasis on expertise.(They speak, write, give seminars, and become experts in a specific field)

Brain Surgeons – win new business from existing clients – internal focus; emphasis is on expertise – they solve problems that others cannot.

The Point Person – wins new business from existing clients and have an internal focus.

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