Managing a Law Firm
There is a timeless truth in our profession that every attorney eventually confronts: being a brilliant legal tactician does not automatically make you a successful business owner. Running a modern law firm requires an entirely separate skillset—one that balances financial precision, operational scaling, and team culture.
If you are ready to stop firefighting administrative tasks and start building a highly profitable, scalable enterprise on your own terms, explore our complete, interactive master handbook: Managing a Law Firm: The Modern Partner’s Blueprint.
For targeted strategies, quick operational toolkits, and curated expert columns, browse our deep-dive archives directly below.
Opening in theaters everywhere this week is Moneyball, starring Brad Pitt and written by (among others) Aaron Sorkin, a pedigree that should generate a moderate hit for a baseball movie. But the book upon which the film is based, Michael Lewis’s ...
Jordan Furlong - September 19, 2011
The cloud is no longer a new, fuzzy idea. Lawyers in masses are adopting cloud computing technologies to power their firms, leveraging browser and mobile app-based services. But which products are emerging as the leaders, the can’t-do-without ...
Larry Port - September 13, 2011When I started my own commercial litigation boutique last year, I gave serious thought to abandoning the much-maligned billable hour. After all, we all know the criticisms: The billable hour rewards inefficiency, places the lawyer’s interests at ...
John H. Snyder - September 8, 2011You've spent hours working on that court filing or contract, getting everyone's feedback (electronically and otherwise) and polishing your prose. Before you attach that Microsoft Word file to an outgoing email to your client or co-counsel, ...
Deborah Savadra - August 31, 2011I just hired a great new employee using LinkedIn Jobs. It turned out to be an incredibly easy and effective way to identify good candidates and fill the position with a minimum of effort. Deciding between candidates was the only tough part of ...
Vivian Manning - August 29, 2011
Innovation is the cornerstone of our economy. Finding new ways to do things, unique things to sell and better ways to sell them—that’s what it's all about. How does this apply to your law practice?
Merrilyn Astin Tarlton - August 24, 2011What happens if you have three important things to get done today and only two hours open on your calendar? How do you avoid feeling frustrated at the end of the day because you didn’t “finish” that motion, or your pre-bills or that amendment? ...
Bill Jawitz - August 8, 2011Let's say you have a meeting scheduled with your client to review an important time-sensitive document. Moments before, your client calls to cancel because she's caught at home during a snowstorm. At one time, you would have had no choice but to ...
Vivian Manning - August 4, 2011
Here are tasks that a marketing assistant can take off your hands so that your law practice's business development plans keep humming along.
Shawn McNalis - August 2, 2011Every few weeks we try to catch up with our Attorney at Work Advisors—a sometimes difficult task with these hardworking superstars! But some of them are well-known bloggers, so for this week’s Friday Five we’re recommending that you ...
The Editors - July 29, 2011