Growing a law firm is no small task. There are plenty of obstacles that can prevent growth, such as the struggle to attract new clients, the battle to retain old clients, inability to innovate, failure to meet demands, absence of strategy, aversion to legal tech solutions, and so on.
The list of obstacles to growing a law firm might seem endless. But, with the right legal research and strategy, with effort from lawyers and will of the organisation, growing a law firm is achievable.
Stasis – the opposite and the absence of growth – will taint any law firm. Stasis is the first immovable step towards failure. Law firms of the future need to innovate. Firms need to strategise to expand business, use marketing to attract new clients, employ legal tech to beat the competition, and use all of the above to increase revenue. Basically, in order to grow, law firms need to be bold.
There are myriad directions of growth, each of which depends on the desires of each firm. The first step towards growth is deciding on the best direction. Some law firms, for example, wish to recruit more staff, while others want to attract new clients or simply focus on net profitability.
Defining direction of growth is the first step towards expanding business. Law firms need to establish clear goals and objectives, which should always depend on an understanding of their current position in the market. Firms need to understand where they are at present and define where they want to go.
Objectives should be . Once the objectives are set and the strategy is defined, firms can start to consider the ways in which they will achieve such goals
One way to expand business is by expanding . As the legal sector changes, as competition increases, law firms often consider greater specialisation or generalisation.
The latter can help to grow a law firm. The reasons are simple. Generalisation increases demand, in theory at least. By expanding the niche, law firms naturally have a wider potential pool of clients. The expansion can also help cross-sell or up-sell – firms can take on more of their client’s work – which in-turn increases client retention and satisfaction – because firms can meet additional client demands.
Another benefit of expanding practice area niche is mitigation of risk. Dependency on a small client base can leave law firms vulnerable, particularly during volatile market conditions. The generalisation of practice area provides a wider safety net, which is especially necessary for smaller firms.
Expanding practice area niche does come with risks. By directing expenditure towards expanding the niche, for example, law firms risk alienating existing clients. They also risk entering markets that are saturated, which means the expenditure may prove wasteful and counter-productive.
A law firm is just a group of people working together towards a shared goal. If firms want to expand their business, they might want to expand their business quite literally.
When hiring, firms should evaluate demand. Firms should grow alongside an increasing client base, ensuring all client needs are met and high levels of client satisfaction are maintained. But firms need to confirm that increased client demands are consistent and long-term rather than simply fluctuating.
If client demand is fluctuating, law firms might grow through outsourcing. Outsourcing tasks can help deal with momentary increases in demand. Firms should outsource time-consuming, low-value work to free up time for lawyers to use expertise and skills, which in turn will reduce the cost of outsourcing.
Once firms have set a strategy and considered expanding niche, they . Law firms of the future should enter the brave new worlds of social media, email marketing, and so on.
Such forms of marketing are often misunderstood. Law firms too often throw money into marketing, without having direction. Law firms need to get marketing right, which means doing legal research, expanding reach, and converting their audience.
Firms should start by establishing a brand. A company’s . Firms need to make sure that potential clients remember the branding in the crowded world of the internet.
Consider how firms wish to be perceived. The aesthetics and design of law firm branding should match the ethos of the firm, reflecting culture and values. Perhaps traditional, no-nonsense firms will opt for simplicity, while more progressive firms will opt for something chic or even experimental.
Firms should ensure colour schemes, fonts, and logos reflect their ethos and maintain consistency for brand recognition, using the same branding across all socials, websites, emails, and so on.
Law firms do not need to hire a copywriter, but they do need to consider copy. Any written information on their website should be presented in a style that is readable and welcoming. Law firm copy should be persuasive, too, showing off all that the firm has achieved and is able to achieve.
Written copy should contain no grammatical errors. There are plenty of business solutions to help with that process, such as and , and firms that depend on more written content should consider a style guide. There are plenty of style guides online that will make writing consistent. The is a popular choice, but there are more accessible options.
Legal automation can sometimes feel overtly complex, particularly when trying to figure out where to start. But sector is simpler than perceived, often meaning only small-scale changes to repetitive tasks, usually involving , document automation, legal document management, legal contract automation, broad data entry processes, and so on.
Automation helps firms to grow by boosting competitiveness. Automation simplifies and streamlines, shifting tedious tasks from humans to machines, allowing lawyers to focus on more valuable work, client-facing work, the sort of work that helps firms stand out from the crowd.
Automation has a myriad of other benefits that give firms an edge, such as reduced costs on low-value work, improved accuracy, increased client satisfaction, and better retention. In simple terms, law firms of the future – particularly smaller firms – need to embrace automation to remain competitive.
For more information, check out our article on How to automate your law firm.
Firms that are less confident with legal tech should consider partnering with a lawtech provider. Lawtech providers specialise in delivering legal-specific advice and training to help firms take advantage of the latest technology and meet the demands of businesses and society.
Lawtech providers are particularly important for small firms that want to embrace innovation, perhaps even legal automation, but do not have the required knowledge to take early steps. Partnering with a lawtech provider will allow firms to create a work programme that can easily support growth.
To , law firms need to indulge all of the above. They need to expand the business and attract new clients, which allows a more diverse pool from which to generate revenue. They need to stay competitive, which means more revenue through greater market share. And they need to embrace legal tech, which will free up more time for lawyers to perform revenue-generating tasks.
At the beginning of the article, we stressed the importance of strategy, but the initial strategy is just the beginning when it comes to growing a law firm. From that initial strategy, firms must review, engage in data analytics, draw logical conclusions, and start the process of strategising again.
Successful law firms are ever-evolving entities. They are constantly assessing and re-assessing, researching and planning, learning from mistakes and building on accomplishments, and always moving forward. Growing a law firm depends on constant inquiry and developing strategies, consistent effort and buy-in from employees, and the sheer determination of all involved.
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Ioan Marc Jones writes on law, politics, and economics for The Independent, openDemocracy, Economy, The Huffington Post, ³ÉÈËÓ°Òô, and many other publications.
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