Thinking about growing or scaling your solo law practice? Before hiring more people or taking on more work, understand the impact on profit, cash flow, systems, management and your role as a lawyer.
When solo lawyers tell me they want to grow or scale their practice, I want to understand what they actually mean by that.
I am quite open, almost brutal at times, about the challenges involved when you start bringing more people into a solo practice.
I have more than 40 years of management experience.
More work and more people do not always mean more profit.
What Growth Should Actually Focus On
Growth does not simply mean working harder, longer or becoming busier.
It should focus on things like:
• systemising your practice so it can take on more work and more people
• profitability
• pricing discipline
• strengthening cash flow and financial visibility
• creating predictability in workload and revenue
• freeing up your time and headspace through better structure
• clear practice and niche growth areas
• defining your ideal client and your unique value to them
• intake, triage and matter management discipline
• consistent marketing and referral activity
These are the things we talk to lawyers about in an initial 90-minute strategy session when they say they want to grow or scale.
Growth Changes Your Role
However, there is a bigger issue sitting underneath all of that.
You need to understand that you may no longer spend most of your time lawyering.
You will increasingly be a business owner and manager.
Cash flow and systems are a big part of that conversation.
So are people.
I repeat - more work and more people do not always mean more profit.
They mean more cost, more management, more responsibility and more complexity.
That may still be exactly where you want to take the practice.
However, you should go into it with your eyes open.
