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About You
(so you know you're not alone)
In the world of small law firm management, there are THREE TYPES of law firm owners we hear from the most:
The ones who are desperate for a change.
The ones who are doing pretty well, but starting to feel the weight of it all.
And the ones who are quietly crushing it - but wondering what comes next?
These are their stories.
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There are a few different types of law firm owners who find their way to us here at How To Manage A Small Law Firm.
Over the years, we've had the opportunity to work with thousands of firms - from scrappy startups to businesses generating tens of millions in revenue - and to get to know the lawyers who own them.
They come to us from different backgrounds, cities, and practice areas. Some are already highly profitable. Some are still trying to figure it out. And many are somewhere in between.
You might recognize yourself in one of their stories. Or maybe just parts of yourself in several of them.
If you do, you can relax
— You're in good company.
Some are feeling pretty desperate when they first get here.
Especially around the time it begins to dawn on them that as their life evolves it will cost more, not less to live the way they want to live. That they'll want to have more control over their time, not less. And that life really is too short to be wasted working with assholes.
Some are already doing well.
Their law firm is growing, with each of The 7 Main Parts functioning well enough to support growth. But now they’re beginning to feel the weight of it.Marketing & Sales are producing clients consistently-enough to keep the wolf away from the door. BUT cash flow still feels too unpredictable. And long-range planning feels risky.
The firm has a pretty good staff and operating systems that aren't in chaos anymore. BUT the idea of being able to step away for 30 consecutive days with "Emergency Access Only” feels out of reach.
Oftentimes, we’ll find the firm's physical plant lagging behind growth — especially in the area of intellectual property: documented policies, job descriptions, systems & procedures.And the lack of meaningful financial controls is often beginning to take a toll on these law firm owners — maybe you know exactly what we mean?
To the untrained eye, these law firms appear to be doing pretty well — which they are. And the owners of these firms appear to have it all together — which they often do.
The problem is, they're keeping it all together with their own two hands (and sometimes their teeth), instead of being able to rely on systems.
This has all worked well-enough. And most of the time they’ve had some success operating this way. Maybe a lot of it. They’re not stuck. But they’re restless. And they’re beginning to get tired of doing all the thinking, all the planning, all the decision-making mostly on their own.
They find their way to us when they wake up one day (or in the middle of the night) and realize everything works, so long as they do.
They haven’t burned out yet. But they know the math doesn’t work forever. Every hour they add doesn’t scale like it used to — and they know that hustling harder isn’t the answer. It’s time to upgrade the operating system of their law practice and transform it into a business that runs on systems, not sweat. And gives them their life back, without breaking what they’ve built.
They don’t need to change, but they want to.
Some common themes we hear from these law firm owners (and their spouses/significant others) revolve around sustainability, predictability, freedom, and protecting the lifestyle their family has come to depend on.
These are some of the common sentiments we hear from law firm owners about why they come to us when their business is already doing pretty well.
Some are quietly crushing it & wondering what comes next?
We often have the opportunity to work with law firm owners who are quietly crushing it.
They find their way to us after they’ve already built something real — a business that doesn’t just survive without them but grows. With a staff that doesn’t need handholding. They’ve had a taste of what’s possible, and now they want more.
Revenue is strong — three, five, sometimes even over ten million dollars. They’re often earning well into seven figures from their business. They’ve stopped trading hours for dollars. And the business is no longer a reflection of their effort alone.
They’ve put real systems in place. They’ve hired serious people. Some have brought on a full-time professional administrator for the first time. They’re learning how to leverage their talents through professionals — not just hustle, instinct & a cadre of “helpers”.
These law firm owners often find their way to us by referral.
They rarely say it exactly this way, but what we often hear being expressed are feelings of longing.
They've become the big fish in their local pond. And whereas some people bask in the feeling of being the big fish in a small pond, these unique human beings know that $10 million in gross revenue is only the beginning and they are ready to prepare themselves for the next part of the journey.
"Victory Lap” isn’t usually in their vocabulary.
The challenge they come to us with is that most of the lawyers with firms in this stage of growth have built only one firm — their own. They are smart enough to recognize that they're still drawing from that single frame of reference, and that a $10 million law firm, while impressive in the small firm world, is still early in the journey.
They know (or intuitively feel it) that their law firm and their life is about to cross a threshold into something more complex. Potentially more rewarding and more exciting. But different. Not necessarily more demanding — in many ways far less — but demanding in very different ways.
There are no hard & fast definitions for when a law firm stops being a small law firm and becomes a mid-size or even a big law firm, by the way. Headcount and office count are rarely useful-enough indicators — both can be increased without positive effect on a law firm’s profitability or the underlying strength of the business. Instead, after 25 years in this space, here’s what we’ve learned to look for..
But before we get into the benchmarks…
It’s helpful to keep in mind: the “smallest” law firm on the AmLaw 100 list brought in more than half a billion dollars in gross revenue last year.
So, let’s all keep our egos in check ;-)
OK so what REALLY separates a mid-size law firm from a high-performing small law firm?
It isn’t just the revenue — though that matters. It’s more about:
Structure. Leadership. Predictability.
You may have noticed we’ve begun talking more about “their law firm” and less about them in this part of the discussion.
That’s not by accident.
It’s because if we are to take-seriously, the goal of building a law firm that works for you, gives you the freedom, the confidence and financial resources to step-away from the business for 30 consecutive days with defined “Emergency Access Only” then the business must become bigger than you.
And that’s exactly what often brings this type of law firm owner to us. Their firm has become bigger than them and they want (or need) help to be sure it doesn’t get away from them.
And some of them find their way to How To Manage A Small Law Firm because they are ready to make the leap from being the owner of a high-performing small law firm, into the owner of a very small mid-size law firm.
Which that’s a whole different world they come to us, to help them prepare for.
So with that in mind, here’s what we tend to look for when a firm is truly making the leap from small to mid-size:
People often talk about making the leap into the mid-size law firm pond when gross revenues reach $10 million a year. But in our experience, what really signals readiness isn’t just a big top-line number — it’s predictability. A firm truly starts to cross the line when monthly revenue reliably exceeds $1 million, and the team can (and does get together regularly) to make long-term decisions based on it.
Then, there's the infrastructure.
We start to see a firm beginning to make the leap into the mid-size pond when the following statements are all true:
There’s a full-time, (qualified) Professional Legal Administrator (or COO) in place — with real authority over important areas of the business including hiring, firing, vendor relations and staff leadership. And with the freedom required to execute on the business plan. And enough professional experience and gravitas to call out counter-productive behaviors up or down the org-chart.
There’s a full-time CFO — not just a bookkeeper, report-giver or even an outsourced vendor, but someone who protects the profits of the firm, takes the lead in areas of financial strategy, financial projections, risk management, lender relations and tax strategies (in cooperation with a professional tax strategist). A professional CFO should also use the firm’s financial reporting function as a feedback mechanism to call attention and call for change when the financials indicate one or more of the firm’s tactics — or even the whole strategy — isn’t working as expected
There’s a full-time CMO (or Chief Acquisition Officer) — because marketing is a leadership function, not an afterthought. This is someone who owns the client acquisition strategy from end to end: positioning, pricing, lead generation, conversion systems, referral partner strategy, and client journey optimization. They don’t just run ads or manage vendors — they make sure the firm’s marketing aligns with business goals and profitability targets. They monitor pipeline health. They’re responsible for making sure Sales has what it needs to succeed. And they have the authority, insight, and accountability to make hard decisions about what’s working, what’s not, and what to do about it. Without someone in this role, the firm is either over-reliant on the owner’s personal reputation or stuck in a cycle of tactical marketing with no real traction.
The owner can be away for 30 consecutive days with defined "Emergency Access Only”, and the firm continues to grow.
Revenue and profits can be forecast within 5–10% accuracy, 12 months in advance.
When ALL of these statements are true the firm is “mid-size” & ready to scale-up.
When this milestone is achieved, it’s time for celebration here at How To Manage A Small Law Firm! And we are delighted to help the Owners of these firms (and their family) choose what kind of "college" makes the most sense for the next part of their entrepreneurial journey.
The Law Firm Diagnostic is not a pitch. It’s not a plan. It’s a moment of truth where we help you diagnose how to grow your law firm.
We’ve been doing this since 1999 and have helped start, manage & grow THOUSANDS of law firms. So yes, we have a TON of great stuff that we would love to share with you.
The law firm owners who do well in this next pond don’t confuse success with mastery.
They don’t let their ego run the show.
They recognize that being at the top of the small firm world doesn’t mean they’re ready for what comes next — not yet. But they want to become ready.
They know the mid-size pond is different. The pace, the pressure, the stakes — all change. Building a mid-size law firm is not just about more clients or more staff. It’s about depth. Maturity. Scale. Real leadership.
The law firm owners who do well there, arrive prepared — not just with systems; but with a well-managed mindset, realistic expectations, and a plan.
Because the biggest risk at this stage isn’t failure. It’s mindset, and ego.
It’s assuming what worked before will keep working. That a $10 million law firm is just a $5 million firm, twice over. Which it isn’t. That’s like assuming parenting one 10-year-old is the same as parenting two 5-year-olds. (For the record, it is not ;-).
The Law Firm Diagnostic is not a pitch. It’s not a plan. It’s a moment of truth where we help you diagnose how to grow your law firm.
We’ve been doing this since 1999 and have helped start, manage & grow THOUSANDS of law firms. So yes, we have a TON of great stuff that we would love to share with you.
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