“Herding butterflies” (or kittens) was one of the first phrases I was told about management in a legal setting. Whether it is in a law firm or a corporation, management of legal operations has always been a challenge. People enter the legal profession for many reasons. I suspect that managing attorneys, cash flow, accounts receivable, and our employees' well-being were not at the top of the list. As a result, except for the few who are natural managers, learning to be a good manager may be a lifetime goal. One key aspect of being a manager is having a plan. The old adage “failing to plan is planning to fail” is a common theme among articles in this issue.
Living and working through the pandemic taught us many lessons. Not the least of which is the need to actively monitor and address mental health issues early. This issue’s feature article, “Failing to Invest in Wellness Is Planning to Fail Where It Matters Most,” by Ty Kelly, walks through the creation of a wellness program in a firm. Improving a firm’s support for its employees needs buy-in at all levels. One of the key takeaways Ty reiterates is that slow and steady wins the race. Take the long view and create a road map that provides the support and services your employees need.
Another area where a long view and a road map is needed is in the implementation of technology within your practice. Otherwise, you end up wasting resources, money and have tools that people are not using. Author Tami Munsch in “Small Firms, Big Innovations: Tech Strategies for Success” provides us with insight on steps that all firms, from solo practitioners to large firms, can take to use technology to their advantage. As technology becomes more ubiquitous, it also democratizes the legal field. When properly implemented, even small firms can provide services comparable with firms many times their size. Tami walks us through the process of developing a plan for success and overcoming the many roadblocks.
The business of running a firm used to be relatively simple, you worked an hour, you billed an hour, you were paid for the hour worked. However, pricing pressures and changes in client business operations have resulted in increasing use of alternative fee arrangements. In “The Profit Playbook: How Your Team Can Drive Revenue Through Innovative Fee Structures,” Ruby Powers discusses innovative fee practices that allow a firm to be both profitable and remain aligned with client goals. This article moves beyond the typical flat fee structure to discuss other arrangements, such as tiered pricing, subscription and hybrid contingency or success-based arrangements. To be profitable however, Ruby explains the importance of planning the fee structures around your particular practice. A fee structure that works for a business litigation matter may not be appropriate (or successful) when working with real estate or intellectual property clients.
One of the keys to operational efficiency is standardizing processes. When everyone in a firm is operating as an island, it creates issues with confusion among the support staff, can result in poor communications with clients and lowers profitability. In ” Practice Precision with SOPs,” author Terah Drent lays out a strong case for creating standard operating procedures (SOPs). By using a methodical process of examining your firms' operations, Terah walks us through the creation of value stream and process mapping to identify high value areas where an SOP can lead to greater efficiency, and as a result improved profitability.
Similar to billing practices, the types of services requested or demanded by clients have also changed over time. Early in my career one of the partners I worked with taught me that our job was to make our clients’ lives easier, not just produce legal documents. Authors Ruchi Sisodia Shah and Kristina Panettiere touch on this theme in their article, “More Than Just Legal Advice: Relationships with Outside Counsel,” which highlights the increasing demands on corporate legal departments and how, as a firm, you can become their trusted business advisor that they come to time and time again. This, of course, requires planning and taking advantage of technical solutions to provide services and remain profitable.
Being a good manager can also mean being a good leader. Our final article, “Complaining Gets a Bad Rap and Other Things Good Leaders Know,” by Sara Lord lays out five key leadership traits in being a good manager. One of the traits described by Sara is being consistent. I once had a managing partner who was incredibly consistent in how he responded to situations, to the point when a decision needed to be made, we could almost always predict in advance which direction they would go. Being consistent in your principles is important to your team, reduces their stress and probably yours as well.
Finally, I would like to express my sincere thanks to our issue team, led by Megan McGrew and Jim Calloway, for their exceptional efforts in helping us produce another outstanding issue.
