Coaching

5 Ways to Make Your Life as a Law Firm CEO Easier

7 minutes to read

As a lawyer, it is not only important that you are good at practicing law — it’s vital that you are an effective business owner as well.

Operating a successful law firm is a far cry from easy, but with the proper strategies in place, you will be putting yourself in a position to dominate your market.

Here are 5 strategies you can implement in your law firm that can simply make your life easier:

Automate as much as you can
Master your hiring process
Set the standard
Always be learning
Stay on top of your finances

1. Automate as much as you can

Systems, systems, systems. It cannot be stressed enough how important it is to implement effective systems in your law firm.

Automation alleviates stress on you and your staff. It also lessens the likelihood of human error.

Having systems in place will give you peace of mind knowing that areas of your business can operate without you having to physically be present with them. This is extremely powerful because it will allow you to focus on other areas of your business that need more of your undivided attention.

You can leverage both people and software to build reliable systems for your business. Marketing, sales, administrative tasks, and virtually any aspect of your business can be systemized. The key is to choose the right tools, resources, and people to help you accomplish this.

Here are a few resources you can use to help you start:

Mailchimp: This is an email marketing platform that you can use to automate email campaigns and manage your email lists. (And there are plenty of other options out there too.)
Canva: This is a graphic design platform that you can use to create graphics for social media, websites, business cards, and much more — without being a master at Adobe Photoshop.
Hootsuite: You can use HootSuite or similar social media management platforms to automate and schedule your social media posting. It also helps you track trends to better resonate with your audience.
Fiverr: This is an online marketplace for freelancers. If you need graphic designers, copywriters, data managers, or practically any other kind of service your firm may need, there is someone on Fiverr that can do it for you for a fraction of the average cost.
Quickbooks: QuickBooks is an accounting system that will help manage your books. Be sure to do some research on all the available accounting software options to determine the best fit for your law firm.

2. Master your hiring process

As the saying goes, “You are only as good as your team.”

Creating a solid hiring process will save you a lot of time and money down the road.

It is important that before creating your hiring process, you are clear about your intention and the core values of your law firm.

Make sure the hiring process you create is something that can be maintained. Consistency throughout your hiring process is vital; everyone should go through the same process. This will help you know if it’s effective — and if not, how to optimize it.

When it comes to hiring in general, do not be afraid to let go of control.

Steve Jobs once said, “Great things in business are never done by one person. They are done by a team of people.”

You cannot do it alone. Behind the most successful individuals in the world, there is a team that has helped them get there.

Building your team may be the hardest thing you will do as a business leader, so be intentional about your process — if not, it can cost you in the end.

Here are some resources you can leverage today to get started on crafting a bulletproof hiring blueprint for your law firm:

3. Set the standard

How you do one thing is how you do everything.

If you are willing to cut corners when it comes to completing a small task, you are more than likely to cut corners when it’s time to handle something much more important.

It is important as a leader at your law firm that you are setting the tone for your business. You are the full embodiment of your brand, and it is important to uphold a high standard.

You can accomplish this by developing and maintaining the proper success-driven habits that are required to maintain a well-run business.

Setting the proper standards at your business will help your staff understand the kind of environment that they’re working in. It also gives your clients faith in the integrity of your law firm.

No matter how old or how experienced you are in your practice and life, there’s always room for improvement. Think about aspects of your business or even in your personal life that you wish you could do better. Start working on making improvements.

The standard of your business falls on your shoulders alone. If you don’t like how your law firm is operating, seriously consider the changes you can make within yourself to better your organization.

4. Always be learning

The world is changing at a faster pace than ever before, and new developments, discoveries, and technologies change the legal landscape every day.

Maintaining a growth mindset and a willingness to learn from everyone around you will take you far as leader of your law firm.

You don’t know what you don’t know. Being closed-minded could hold you back from the potential growth in both your personal life and career.

Here are things you can do to keep yourself in the know and always growing:

Create time to read something educational or insightful every day.
Listen to the leading podcasts in your industry.
Attend summits and seminars.
Get connected with other leaders in your industry.
Find a mentor.
Take online courses.

5. Stay on top of your finances

Keeping your own books can be frustrating and overwhelming. If you don’t know what you are doing it will cost you, especially when it comes to taxes. Not to mention there are many other accountabilities your law firm needs you to own that are better uses of your time and strengths.

Hire assistance in this department as soon as you can afford it. A finance professional will help you maximize your cash flow so you can grow your business faster, save money on taxes, and so much more.

Here are the three professionals who can help do this effectively:

If you cannot afford to hire a professional to maintain your books, you can use these online accounting systems:

Final thoughts

If you take action on all 5 of these practices, you will begin to feel the difference it will make in your life as the CEO of your law firm.

But don’t let the learning end here. There are many more resources you can use to continue growing as a leader:

Blog posts:

Podcast episodes:

Webinars:

eBooks:

Events:

Million Dollar Day: Michael Mogill hosts hands-on training to help law firm owners implement the missing pieces of their business the structure it needs to be ready to scale.
The Game Changers Summit: The largest law firm growth conference on earth.

Programs:

Crisp Coach: Work on, not in, your business, to become a better leader and law firm owner. Connect with hundreds of like-minded leaders at your level and beyond.
Crisp Experience: A tailored training solution for your team — and your one-way ticket to accelerated growth. Only available for Crisp Coach member firms.

How Crisp Can Help

As the #1 Law Firm Growth Company in the Nation, Crisp has helped hundreds of firms dominate their markets with results that speak for themselves ($3.2M in average revenue growth, 2x increase in average case values).

We teach firm owners how they can win by design and help them overcome their biggest barriers to growth while establishing lasting legacies.

If you’re ready to be amongst the top 5% of firms in the country, submit your application for Crisp Coach today.

Join them and see what you’re made of.

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