Maybe you’re a solo.  Perhaps it’s you and a few non-lawyers.  Maybe you’ve got an associate or two.  Regardless, you’ve got a small enough place that people need to wear a few hats.

When you’ve got a small firm you don’t have the luxury of a bad hire. Every person you hire needs to be the right choice.  A bad decision means dumping time and effort into someone only to start over with another newbie in a few months.  That’s time lost forever, time when you could have been doing good work for your clients.

Unfortunately, there’s no sure-fire way to ensure that you’re bringing the right person on board.  I’ve made more than my fair share of mistakes, but over the years I’ve picked up a few bits of wisdom.  So I thought it would be a good idea to share them with you here.

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Running a law firm – indeed, any business – is a marathon.  You’ve got to bring in business constantly.  Training yourself and your staff is consistent.  Pay the bills every month, keep matters flowing through the pipeline always.

It never ends.

You can stop marketing your practice when you’re busy, but there comes a time when you’re not so busy anymore.  At that point, you’re in a deficit position.  You never want to be looking at things from that vantage point.

You can get so bogged down in a single matter than the rest fall by the side of the road, but what happens?  At best, you end up burning the midnight oil to catch up.  At worst, you’ve got bar problems and a load of pissed off clients.

What’s the solution?

Keep running.

Every day, every week, every month.  Lace up your sneakers and head out the door each morning whether you want to or not.  It’s a marathon, not a sprint.

Edison Pena, the Chilean mine worker, kept running.  Each day during that long and stressful time stranded underground, Edison ran anywhere from 3-6 miles.  He said it kept his mind and body clear during those dark and cold days and nights.  And now that he’s back in the light, he’ll undoubtedly keep running.

Because that’s the only way to get ahead, and stay on top of your game.  Stop running and the world passes you by.

How about you?

Image credit: Iguana Jo (Flickr)

Don’t bother picking up the phone when a new client calls.  They’re just tire kickers, anyway.

Don’t bother being on time for your consultation appointments.  Clients should expect to wait.

Don’t bother asking how someone found out about you.  Nobody remembers anyway.

Don’t bother explaining the details.  Nobody cares, they just want you to take care of things.

Don’t bother calling to confirm a court date.  It’s the client’s job to remember.

Don’t bother following up to see if the client has any other problems you can help solve.  They already have someone else lined up.

Don’t bother asking for feedback on how well you performed.  You already know you’re a kick-add lawyer.

Don’t bother asking for referrals.  Your clients love you so much they wouldn’t send their friends and relatives anywhere but to you.

Don’t bother staying in touch.  Clients don’t want to hear from their lawyers once the matter is completed.

Don’t bother coming into the office.  Eventually, nobody else will either.

Photo credit: DexterPerrin (Flickr)

What gets you going in the morning?  The answer should guide your law practice to help you decide the best use of your time.

I’m a huge coffee drinker. Have been ever since my dad gave me a cup half filled with milk and the other half with java, back when I was 6.  A little early by most measures, but it sealed the deal for me.  And to this day, coffee remains part of my daily ritual.

That doesn’t mean coffee is what gets me going, though.  In fact, I’ve been known to drink a cup just before bedtime and sleep like a baby.

What gets me going – and keeps me going – is caffeine.  But not the sort found in coffee.  My caffeine is of a different sort.

We all know that it’s found in coffee, but what is it?  Caffeine is a psychotropic drug, a stimulant that affects our central nervous system to keep us awake, alert and focused.  Studies have called it useful and harmful, beneficial and detrimental to our well-being.  It’s all a matter of your perspective and moderation.

So, too, is your life.  Taken in light doses, something may be exciting and wake up our senses.  A beautiful day in the park with friends, for example.  Or a complex motion that stretches our boundaries.

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Do you get your hands dirty, or keep your nails clean at all times?

As lawyers and business owners we are often focused on the bigger picture of running a law firm. Business booms and we hire people, client numbers take a nosedive and we start sacking employees. We outsource, insource, reallocate job duties and manage the workflow. It’s what we do, after all.

And there’s value to that, to be sure. We need to keep our eyes on the bigger picture so we can strategize and maintain excellent client service.

But along the way, it’s easy to come down with managerial memory loss. And that’s a shame.

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