3 Tips to Run Your Law Firm More Like a Business
When you opened the doors to your law practice, you probably didn't expect to spend the number of hours you do on administrative and management tasks and duties. And as most lawyers that run a practice learn, management responsibilities are much less exciting than lawyering responsibilities.
Interestingly, making the right business management decisions can actually end up freeing up your time to do what you want: practice law. Below, you can find three tips on how to run your law firm more like a business so you can spend more time lawyering.
1. Efficiency Matters
Businesses make efficient choices whenever possible. In addition to looking to the long term, being efficient also entails pinching pennies and getting the most out of everything. And since your time is the most valuable resource, you need to guard it carefully. Investing in the right tech, tools, staff, and facilities to make work seamless and turn out the best work product is critical. It's simply a good business decision to run an efficient law office.
2. Change With Your Market
Countless law firms have learned that their client base is changing in many ways. For example, in many areas, the do-it-yourself type clients are everywhere thanks to the internet. Attorneys that used to be able to bill flat fees or hourly for preparing documents of all sorts, now more than ever get confronted with individuals asking for a document they prepared themselves using an online form to be reviewed.
The internet has enabled the DIY legal client in ways never before imagined in pretty much every practice area. Evolving with the new legal consumer market involves being open to what the future holds, including new ways of marketing yourself.
3. Get That Money
Lawyers, though reputed to be sharks by the public, are also overwhelmingly pushovers when it comes to unpaid bills. Lawyers and law firms, like most anyone owed a debt for that matter, will almost always be willing to negotiate an unpaid bill. Furthermore, when clients scoff at hourly rates or retainers, those are too often reduced without any negotiation. While being nice or flexible on price may seem to be only way to land the client, it's not. If cost is a concern, you can always discuss alternative arrangements. Selling yourself short hurts the business financially.
Have an open position at your law firm? Post the job for free on Indeed, or search local candidate resumes.
Related Resources:
- Ex-Big Law COO Explains How Law Firms Fail at Business (FindLaw's Strategist)
- Before You Start a Law Firm, Learn to Run a Business (FindLaw's Strategist)
- What's a Primary Care Lawyer? (FindLaw's Strategist)
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