By Stephen Fairley on Posted in Law Firm Development,Law Firm MarketingHow happy are you about your pursuit of financial independence through the practice of law? If the answer is, “not very,” then it’s time to start taking the necessary steps to build a lifestyle law firm — one that lets you do what you want, when you want to do it. There is no magic… Continue Reading
By Stephen Fairley on Posted in Law Firm DevelopmentAll of the highly successful lawyers I know have one thing in common: they take the time to plan for the future of their law practice. They don’t just let things happen, they make things happen. They guide the destiny of their business with a firm hand and an eye on the future. Would I… Continue Reading
By Stephen Fairley on Posted in Law Firm Development,Rainmaker Mastermind GroupUp to this point, your competitive nature has been necessary for your survival. Competition in the legal industry is drilled into you from taking the LSAT, to being ranked in law school, to competitive internships, to selling your soul to Big Law in hopes you will be looked at as partner material. Once you become… Continue Reading
By Stephen Fairley on Posted in Law Firm Development,Rainmaker Mastermind GroupIt’s been several years since I joined my first Mastermind Group. Since then, my business has grown from under a million dollars in revenue to several million. We’ve grown the team from under a dozen employees to over 60 team members and we’ve gone from helping over 6,000 attorneys to over 18,000 attorneys. In my… Continue Reading
By Stephen Fairley on Posted in Law Firm Development,Rainmaker Mastermind GroupHave you ever wished you could tap into the minds of law firm owners more successful than you to learn their secrets? Have you ever wanted to have the expertise of some of the greatest strategists in law firm marketing at your fingertips? Would you like to be part of an elite group of law… Continue Reading
By Stephen Fairley on Posted in Law Firm Development,Law Firm ManagementThe Rainmaker Institute’s Director of Sales, Adam Reiman, recently sat down with Otis Landerholm of Landerholm Immigration, A.P.C., an immigration law firm in Oakland, California. They had a frank discussion on how improving his intake process has transformed Otis’ law firm and his life: Adam: To begin, please give us a 30,000-foot view how things are going… Continue Reading
By Stephen Fairley on Posted in Becoming a Rainmaker,Law Firm DevelopmentIt’s a new year, but are you working on becoming a new you? This year, I’ve made one of my goals to let go of doing things that do not serve me (or my business) well. You cannot truly build the law firm of your dreams without first working on yourself, banishing the bad habits you’ve… Continue Reading
By Stephen Fairley on Posted in Law Firm Development,Law Firm ManagementI’d like to share with you an interview with one attorney who took what most lawyers can identify with as an adverse condition — grinding away at a practice he found unfulfilling — to reinvent himself and create a lifestyle law firm in a way that is truly inspiring. Recently, our Director of Sales, Adam Reiman,… Continue Reading
By Stephen Fairley on Posted in Internet Marketing for Lawyers,Law Firm DevelopmentThere are certain similarities that successful law firms have that unsuccessful ones don’t. I call them habits, since they must be deeply ingrained in an organization to bear full fruit. A few years ago, Forrester Research — a global business research and advisory firm — studied the successful habits of small businesses, and it is… Continue Reading
By Stephen Fairley on Posted in Law Firm Development,Law Firm ManagementFor many law firms, business slows during the holidays. And that makes it a perfect time to review your law practice for ways to grow your law firm in the new year. Start by Asking 3 Questions: Am I on target with my goals? Are my numbers lining up? (Examine your overhead, major expenditures, profit… Continue Reading
By Stephen Fairley on Posted in Law Firm DevelopmentClient satisfaction surveys are information gold mines for your law firm, helping you to understand what your client thinks about how you delivered your service, what you could have improved upon, what they actually gained from your service and what they really need from you. Although this insight is vital, the benefits to client satisfaction… Continue Reading
By Stephen Fairley on Posted in Law Firm Development,Law Firm MarketingThe 4th quarter is here and how you end 2016 is how you will start 2017 for your law firm! If you finish 2016 strong, you’ll start 2017 in the same way. So what are you going to do to make this last quarter your BEST quarter? Building a lifestyle law firm — one that… Continue Reading
By Stephen Fairley on Posted in Law Firm DevelopmentThe theme for the ABA Solo & Small Firm Summit in Cincinnati on Sept. 29-Oct.1, 2016, is Be All the Attorney You Can Be and you are sure to get a briefcase full of great tips, with a full slate of nationally recognized speakers sharing the tools and resources solos and small firms need to… Continue Reading
By Stephen Fairley on Posted in Business Development for Law Firms,Law Firm DevelopmentI know there are many attorneys who have wondered at one time or another if they should pursue a mass tort practice. After all, mass torts is a highly lucrative area of practice for personal injury attorneys — much more so than if you are only taking on single event cases. So how do you… Continue Reading
By Stephen Fairley on Posted in Law Firm Development,Law Firm Management,Law Firm MarketingI truly hope that your plans for the long Labor Day weekend are as pleasurable as mine — I’m fishing in Montana! — but if they’re not and you’re looking for something to do, why not take an hour or so to discover some new ways to grow your law firm so you can enjoy a… Continue Reading
By Stephen Fairley on Posted in Law Firm DevelopmentWe held another Rainmaker Retreat session in Las Vegas last weekend and, as usual, I opened the floor for questions. I always enjoy this part of the Retreat since the questions attendees ask are usually on the minds of more than just the person asking the question. Learning from each other is one of the… Continue Reading
By Stephen Fairley on Posted in Law Firm DevelopmentOne of the most important things I’ve learned as a business owner is to learn from those who have already been there and done that. Benchmarking off successful entrepreneurs can save you a lot of time, money and headaches when it comes to running any business. So an article on Forbes.com on Five Things You… Continue Reading
By Stephen Fairley on Posted in Law Firm Development,Law Firm MarketingHere’s a lesson that many attorneys learn the hard way: you will never have that lifestyle law firm you want if you keep taking on the wrong types of clients — which are those that fall outside a pre-defined category of what constitutes your ideal clients. These six tried-and-true tips will help you attract the… Continue Reading
By Stephen Fairley on Posted in Business Development for Law Firms,Law Firm DevelopmentHere is the 4th key to breaking the 7-figure barrier for your law firm: Key #4: Pay attention to your firm’s finances. A 2014 LexisNexis survey of 309 U.S.- based law firms – 75 percent of which were firms with less than 10 attorneys – reports that 39 percent of a typical practice’s client accounts… Continue Reading
By Stephen Fairley on Posted in Business Development for Law Firms,Law Firm DevelopmentI have probably helped more attorneys break the seven-figure barrier in revenues than anyone else. I’m not telling you this to brag, but to share with you the keys to breaking the seven-figure barrier based on my experiences. Key #3: Identify your ideal target market. Your ideal target market (ITM) is the person or company… Continue Reading
By Stephen Fairley on Posted in Law Firm Development,Law Firm Management,Rainmaker Retreat Boot CampOne of the most engaging sessions we have at each Rainmaker Retreat is when I open the room up for questions. This is one of my favorite parts of the program since I learn so much about our attendees’ practices from the questions posed. Here are some recent examples: Q: I’ve hired people to write… Continue Reading
By Stephen Fairley on Posted in Law Firm DevelopmentThe ability to build a “lifestyle law firm” – one that enables you to do what you want, when you want to do it – is the key to financial independence for attorneys. If you know me or follow any of our legal marketing websites, our blogs, or social media posts, then you know that… Continue Reading
By Stephen Fairley on Posted in Law Firm Development,Law Firm MarketingAre you gritty? Your personal success — and that of your law firm — depends on it. Dr. Angela Lee Duckworth gave a TED Talk in 2013 about grit as the key to success. As she defines it, grit is “passion and perseverance for very long-term goals. Grit is having stamina. Grit is sticking with your… Continue Reading
By Stephen Fairley on Posted in Law Firm Development,Law Firm MarketingThis is Small Business Week and I’m going to share with you some inspiring talks by business visionaries in this week’s blog posts. The first is one of the most famous commencement speeches ever given — the 2005 Stanford commencement address by Steve Jobs. One of my favorite lessons from Jobs’ talk is “Don’t be… Continue Reading
