Improving time management is critical and requires delegating your weaknesses and leveraging your strengths .
Stage 2 :
SMALL PRACTICE
In a small practice , you now have at least one associate and more staff . These employees bring you additional problems and communication issues . However , important objectives are slipping through the cracks . And associates just don ’ t produce the same amount of volume and quality of work that you can do personally . You ’ re still putting out fires , and you still need more cases . There is a sense of overwhelm . At Stage 2 , you must think strategically about where you want to be in five years and create an organizational chart of the positions you will need — as well as the marketing and management systems . In essence , at this stage you need to start creating infrastructure , so that you can scale your law firm . You need to be more strategic in your thinking and know your firm ’ s critical numbers on a monthly , weekly , and daily basis . You need to have benchmarks and KPIs so that you can hold your staff and associates accountable — they need to know what a win looks like and what success is in their respective positions .
Stage 3 :
MIDSIZE PRACTICE
At this stage , much of what goes on in the firm still depends on the response or decision from you personally , and you can ’ t find enough associates or staff to handle all the cases that you now are bringing in your office . Clients are not getting the type of service that you want for your firm ’ s brand , and you can ’ t get past certain roadblocks . You still might need to create benchmarks and improve your time management . And you ’ re really having scaling issues . Sometimes the left hand doesn ’ t know what the right hand is doing .
At this stage , the family atmosphere
16 x The Trial Lawyer is gone , so you must instill a healthy and productive corporate culture , incorporating necessary mid-level management . It ’ s time to upgrade your systems for hiring , firing , and training superstar staff . You need to measure everything , set benchmarks , and use reports to manage everything . This is where I see a lot of firms really get stuck going to the next level , and this necessitates strategic planning + a vision , but most importantly : accountability and implementation .
Stage 4 :
LARGE PRACTICE
At this stage , you have no problem getting cases . But there are typically problems with cases not getting properly prepared and evaluated to the extent they would have back when you were still involved . You probably are not happy with the quality of your firm ’ s output ; things don ’ t get done as quickly as you like . There are more staff mistakes and poor communication within the firm . Because you are much larger than when you first started your law firm , you must be careful that the tail doesn ’ t wag the dog . Stage 4 is marked with scaling and staff / associate productivity issues , and you ’ re not focusing enough on your firm ’ s future because you ’ re trying to figure out what is going on at the present . At this stage it ’ s time to create fresh systems of scalability , including building a management hierarchy with other lawyers managing different practice areas so you can focus on the bigger picture . You need more cutting edge technology and systems to ensure quality service isn ’ t compromised .
Stage 5 :
MEGA PRACTICE
At this stage , you ’ ve finally made it . One of the big questions at this point is whether or not everyone is on the same page . You must make sure that your firm ’ s culture is secure and that you have the right people in the right seats on the right bus . You may worry about people having their own priorities and cliques inside of the business . A lot of the time , you ’ ll hear staff / associates / partners complain that they don ’ t know what ’ s going on . This is the stage where I find some firm owners more in love with their law firm than their clients ; the preeminence theory ( putting clients first ) that helped them achieve success is slipping or has been sidelined in their scaling efforts . At this stage , you may have so many opportunities open to you that you don ’ t know which to pick . Distractions from the core business abound .
At Stage 5 , you need to “ fall in love ” with your clients , rather than the firm you ’ ve built — by recommitting to excellent client service and obtaining the highest and best results for your clients . This is also the time to create an in-house university and make sure that you ’ re conducting daily huddles with different sections — and that you have a core executive team . You should be managing managers at this point .
CONCLUSION
While not every conceivable firm will fall squarely into the stages enumerated above , the vast majority do . Each stage of law firm growth brings new sets of challenges and requires new solutions and success factors for transformative growth . As you review the chart in Figure 1 , you will likely be able to place your firm within one of these specific stages .
If you want to learn more about this growth trajectory , visit the PILMMA website , answer 8-10 questions , and receive a report that details where your firm falls within The Five Stages of Law Firm Growth — plus what you need to do to propel your firm forward to the next level .