5 Ways Law Firms Can Be Successful Businesses Summary: The sooner law firms realize they are in fact businesses, the longer they will survive.
Do you want to make certain your law firm grows and survives as a business? Then you better think beyond the simple representation of clients. And instead focus on bringing in and developing business that goes far beyond court cases and depositions.
The practice of law is not usually thought of as a business, but it is. Heads of law firms or solo practitioners must attract and keep clients, monitor cash flow, and apply good business practices. While aspiring attorneys enter the field for various reasons, some of them may not have thought of themselves as businessmen or businesswomen, but as they progress in their careers, business skills determine whether or not they stay working. “The practice of law is considered by most lawyers first and foremost to be a profession. That is to say, most believe it to be an aspirational vocation primarily focused on an attorney helping those in need navigate difficult legal processes and achieve something that improves their life or reduces conflict. But even Illinois’ favorite son, Abraham Lincoln, knew it to be a business as well as a profession, and spoke often about the practicalities of running his law firm,� Mitchell Sexner, founding partner of Sexner & Associates, LLC told LawCrossing.
1. Determine a management structure that works best.
Law firms or sole practitioners have multiple options on how to structure themselves, but there are some choices that are more popular than others in the legal world. For instance, most law firms are partnerships, where partners have individual practices that are like their own businesses and they coexist in one firm that shares resources. Associates work underneath these partners, and they are supported by staff. Partners bring in business, and that money is used to pay salaries and expenses. Any profit left over is divided amongst the partners. Law firm partners tend to appoint one managing partner to lead the group. In the past, this was more of a benevolent dictator situation, where the MP did little but exists in name, but nowadays, MPs tend to act like CEOs who devote more of their time to leadership than practicing the law. Some law firms also have an executive committee that the MP either reports to or is a part of, and occasionally, law firms also have other internal leadership underneath the MP such as a Chief Operating Officer. This article first appeared “5 Ways Law Firms Can Be Successful Businesses“ on LawCrossing, also on Slideshare.
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