By Stephen Fairley on Posted in Law Firm DevelopmentGuiding the growth of your law firm takes a disciplined approach to law firm development. While you may not have learned much about the business of law as your pursued your JD, you will need to master certain business disciplines — planning, hiring, financial management, technology, and marketing — to make your firm successful. There… Continue Reading
By Stephen Fairley on Posted in Law Firm Management,Law Firm MarketingThis post was originally published on Oct. 13, 2016 and updated on April 11, 2018. As the owner of a small or mid-sized law firm, your primary focus – after gaining competency as an attorney – is to understand and apply the key principles of business development, operations, management and law firm marketing every single… Continue Reading
By Stephen Fairley on Posted in Business Development for Law Firms,Law Firm ManagementIf you have been practicing law for awhile, you know that there are some reasons clients leave that you can do nothing about. Some may leave you for a competitor. Some may leave because they don’t need you anymore — the matter is over or they have decided not to pursue it. By far, though,… Continue Reading
By Stephen Fairley on Posted in Law Firm ManagementIf you are unhappy in your law practice, every molehill becomes a mountain that you dread climbing. The fact is, you will not create a successful law practice if you’re just in it for the financial rewards. What happy attorneys have in common is, first and foremost, a heartfelt dedication to serving their clients that… Continue Reading
By Stephen Fairley on Posted in Law Firm ManagementWhether you are a solo practitioner or the owner of a small law firm, there are 10 key principles of law firm management you must focus on to ensure your firm is successful over time: #1: Marketing. The purpose of marketing is to generate leads. There are a wide variety of ways to do this. All… Continue Reading
By Stephen Fairley on Posted in Law Firm ManagementNo one starts out in business to fail, but fail you will if you don’t recognize that while you may practice law, you run a business. To avoid running it into the ground, you need to avoid these six law firm management fails: Failing to plan. To start and run any business, you need to focus… Continue Reading
By Stephen Fairley on Posted in Law Firm ManagementA recent ruling out of the Eastern District of New York against a solo practitioner who neglected to manage her firm’s technology has resulted in her having to pay fees and costs as a sanction and provides a cautionary tale for those similarly situated. The case for legal malpractice was brought against this solo practitioner… 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,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 Law Firm ManagementThere are a lot of law firms out there with a cash flow problem. While it’s easy to blame your cash flow issues on slow-paying clients, the problem really lies with you and your lack of a process to ensure you get paid for your work. The truth is, if you don’t expect to be paid, your… 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 ManagementIf there is one thing that all the attorneys I’ve worked with (18,000+ and counting) share, it’s that they are ALL too busy. Busy generating leads. Busy meeting with prospects. Busy mentoring associates. Busy with professional activities. Busy, busy, busy! It is usually at the end of the year that some of your time is… Continue Reading
By Stephen Fairley on Posted in Law Firm ManagementSmallLaw, a popular email newsletter for solo practitioners and those who manage and work in small law firms, reviews hundreds of articles published every week. From these articles, they select one as their SmallLaw Pick of the Week — something they feel is a must-read for this audience. While I’m making merry over the holidays,… Continue Reading
By Stephen Fairley on Posted in Law Firm ManagementSmallLaw, a popular email newsletter for solo practitioners and those who manage and work in small law firms, reviews hundreds of articles published every week. From these articles, they select one as their SmallLaw Pick of the Week — something they feel is a must-read for this audience. While I’m making merry over the holidays,… Continue Reading
By Stephen Fairley on Posted in Law Firm ManagementOne gift that never stops giving is having great people. Having Superstars at every level of your law firm is the one thing that can truly differentiate your from your competition and keep clients coming in the door. Unfortunately, I hear from many attorneys that finding and keeping good people is a major challenge when… 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 ManagementIn honor of Halloween, here are 7 scary slip-ups that lawyers need to avoid. Just make sure you’re not committing them, or you could put your practice in the grave! Not realizing you are running a business. You may have studied the law, but you are running a business. And to be successful, client development… Continue Reading
By Stephen Fairley on Posted in Law Firm ManagementThere really is no doubt about it. All the latest research shows that lawyers are spending way too much time NOT practicing the law. The 2016 Thomson Reuters Small Firm Report says attorneys in small firms report spending just 61% of their time on practicing law, while solos say they spend only 55% of their… Continue Reading
By Stephen Fairley on Posted in Law Firm ManagementClio, a cloud-based law firm practice management technology company, released its first Legal Trends Report last week based on data aggregated in the last year from 40,000 active Clio users. And it has some eye-popping information in it. First, let me say how great it is to have some data-driven information on how solos and… Continue Reading
By Stephen Fairley on Posted in Law Firm ManagementRecent LexisNexis research showed that 73% of small law firms have past due accounts, which is a killer for cash flow. In that survey, attorneys admitted to something we all know is true: lawyers hate asking clients for money. They find it embarrassing, distasteful, even greedy, but I don’t know any lawyers who find money… Continue Reading
By Stephen Fairley on Posted in Law Firm ManagementLaw Firm 500 celebrates velocity, innovation, and the entrepreneurial spirit of law firms of all sizes. The recognition you receive from this important new award will help you differentiate your law firm, add new clients, and enhance your standing in your business community. This prestigious award is similar to the Inc. 5000, which recognizes fast growing, independently owned companies… 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 ManagementDocument management is a big issue for law firms and not just because of the cost of all that paper, printing, copying, storage and so on. Generating documents is a primary area of inefficiency for many law firms and legal departments. Reducing resources required to create accurate documents immediately improves your bottom line. This is… Continue Reading
