How Southworth PC Grew from $370K to $3.8M in Six Years

How We Helped

Clarifying the Role of the CEO
Through the Crisp Coach program, Shaun began redefining his role within the firm.

Instead of personally managing every operational detail, he began focusing on defining measurable goals, creating accountability through clear KPIs, and empowering team members to make decisions aligned with the firm’s mission.

This shift toward servant leadership allowed attorneys to manage client matters more independently and helped eliminate leadership bottlenecks that had slowed the firm’s growth.

Building the Operational Leadership Needed to Scale
As the firm continued growing, Shaun realized the business needed experienced operational leadership.

Through Crisp Recruit, Southworth PC hired its first Director of Operations, bringing in the operational leadership needed to support the firm’s rapid growth. This role helped build the infrastructure required to scale by implementing reporting dashboards, strengthening internal processes, and improving visibility into key performance metrics.

The Director of Operations also helped transition the firm to a fully remote national team, allowing Southworth PC to recruit talented attorneys and staff from across the country.

Shaun described the impact this way:

“This leader has ensured our processes run more smoothly, our data gathering is stronger, and that our team can focus on what they do best. He has brought alignment and clarity to our operations so that the entire firm can move in the same direction.”

Strengthening Litigation Support Through Specialized Leadership
As case volume increased, the firm needed stronger operational support behind the attorneys.

Through Crisp Recruit, Southworth PC hired a Paralegal Manager to oversee the firm’s litigation support department.

The role focuses on supporting attorneys working in a complex regulatory environment by coordinating deadlines, compliance requirements, and case workflows.

The Paralegal Manager quickly took ownership of the department and built systems that allowed attorneys to focus on legal strategy while the support team managed operational coordination.

Shaun described the impact this way:

“This leader stepped into a paralegal manager role where she oversees the operations of our paralegal department. She assumed leadership right away and exceeded even the high expectations I had coming into the process.”

Building a Team of A-Players
Crisp Recruit focuses on identifying candidates who align with a firm’s values, culture, and long-term growth goals.

Instead of choosing from the limited pool of applicants who apply to open roles, the process identifies high-performing candidates who match the firm’s ideal candidate profile.

Through this process, Southworth PC hired four operational support roles through Crisp Recruit, strengthening the firm’s ability to scale.

These hires helped Shaun build the internal capacity needed to support rapid growth without increasing his personal workload.

Likewise, in December 2024, Shaun made Lydia Taylor the firm’s Managing Partner, overseeing day-to-day legal operations.

“The leadership training I received through Crisp helped me recognize Lydia’s potential and create the space for her to lead at a high level,” Shaun said. “She has done an exceptional job building and driving a culture of excellence at the firm while also helping create an environment where our team members do not just perform, but personally thrive.” 

Lydia is helping Southworth PC grow and operate more efficiently than ever. Thanks to her promotion into a leadership role, Shaun was able to focus on serving as a thought leader and advocate for federal employees, closely monitoring developments at the EEOC, MSPB, and in federal court, and designing scalable litigation strategy and attorney-training systems for the firm.

Lydia also uses Crisp coaching as part of her own leadership development, which has helped reinforce the firm’s rapid growth.

Developing Team Members Through Crisp Experience
Team members hired through Crisp Recruit, including Southworth PC’s Director of Operations and Paralegal Manager, continued their development through Crisp Experience, a comprehensive team training program designed to accelerate the growth of high-performing legal team members.

Through workshops, community collaboration, and access to Crisp Academy resources, they gained additional tools to strengthen operational leadership, improve team alignment, and support the firm’s rapid growth.

This continued development helped ensure these key hires were not only effective in their roles, but also equipped to build systems and lead teams within an increasingly complex and fast-growing firm.