.png)
What How To Manage A Small Law Firm
Actually Does
(for YOU, obviously)
We do 3 primary things for the 500+ small law firms we currently help to manage:
1 Fractional
C-Suite Services
We step-in and fill the role of CEO, COO, CFO and/or CMO of the law firm; until such time that the business outgrows us and brings the role fully-inhouse which most often happens, at our request.
Adding a professionally trained, resourced and experienced “C-Suite” to a small law firm’s org chart dramatically “levels the playing field” for ambitious small law firm owners by allowing them to experience the benefits of having the sort of high-caliber C-Suite to their firm’s org chart, that’s normally only reserved for mid-size law firms.
A high-caliber CEO, COO, CFO and/or CMO is a six-figure professional usually with advanced degrees in their area of expertise. They should have many years of experience and a proven track record of results growing law firms. Their income should be tied in-part, to the success of the law firm they help to manage.
.png)
Wait a minute, how in the world is a law firm
grossing less than about ten million dollars a year,
ever supposed to afford to hire anyone like that?
EXACTLY
.png)
This is something that normally only mid-size law firms can afford, to help drive growth and with the management of the business. But it’s a bit of a “chicken or egg” catch-22 situation for most small law firms:
Without a qualified, trained, experienced & well-resourced CEO it’s almost impossible to grow a law firm to the point where it makes economic sense to employ such a person; but without a qualified, trained, experienced and well-resourced CEO it’s nearly impossible (or at least, really, really painful & slow) to grow a law firm to the point where it makes economic sense to have such a person on the org chart.
And so most small law firms just sort of bumble-along until the lawyers who own them eventually give-up on the sort of growth Members of How To Manage A Small Law Firm have come to expect as “normal” in our world.
And so most small law firms just sort of bumble-along until the lawyers who own them eventually give-up on the sort of growth Members of How To Manage A Small Law Firm have come to expect as “normal” in our world.
In mid-size law firms, it’s the CALIBER of the firm’s C-SUITE (CEO, COO, CFO & CMO) that usually has more to do with the profitability, predictability and GROWTH of the law firm, than even the caliber of its attorneys.
Depending on a firm’s stage of growth, the strength of its internal operations, the owner’s personal goals — and what the firm’s past results suggest about the need for support — we may recommend monthly or weekly meetings with their assigned CEO, COO, CFO, or CMO.
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.
2
Community
(aka The Bubble)
There is no humble way to say this. Nowhere else will you find a more WELCOMING more SUPPORTIVE, more GENEROUS, more FUN or a better-looking group of law firm owners than you will when you become a Member of the How To Manage A Small Law Firm community.
More than ten years ago we used to call them “clients”, but a vote was taken and they made it clear: “We’re not just clients, we are members of this community. This is the only place where we can come to be open & honest about our challenges and know that everyone is really happy for us when we come back and celebrate our successes”. (paraphrased compilation of sentiments over the years)
And then along came baby Sal. Whose Mom joined the How To Manage A Small Law Firm community before she’s even passed the Bar Exam, “Because I want to learn how to build a business the right way, the first time”. A year after graduating, having grossed nearly half-a-million-dollars Baby Sal joined us at our Live Quarterly Meetings. And a year later when her firm was up to nearly a million dollars of annualized gross revenue, his mom said, “My business and my income are growing so fast, it’s like I’m living in a bubble in here at HTM. The only way I can keep track of the speed that the rest of the world is still turning, is that Sal is still in diapers and it’s like my law firm is ready to graduate from high school!” (also paraphrased from a compilation of conversations over the years).
And then along came baby Sal. Whose Mom joined the How To Manage A Small Law Firm community before she’s even passed the Bar Exam, “Because I want to learn how to build a business the right way, the first time”. A year after graduating, having grossed nearly half-a-million-dollars Baby Sal joined us at our Live Quarterly Meetings. And a year later when her firm was up to nearly a million dollars of annualized gross revenue, his mom said, “My business and my income are growing so fast, it’s like I’m living in a bubble in here at HTM. The only way I can keep track of the speed that the rest of the world is still turning, is that Sal is still in diapers and it’s like my law firm is ready to graduate from high school!” (also paraphrased from a compilation of conversations over the years).
.png)
This is why our Members are Members and why they call our community
“The Bubble”
The Bubble is a community of like-minded entrepreneurs whose businesses all happen to be law firms; and who “get it” because we are all on this journey of personal, financial and professional growth, together.
The Bubble comes together at Live Quarterly meetings we host in a different city each quarter.
About 1/3 of our Members
bring a spouse or significant-other because they're on the journey together.
About 10 of our Members
will bring their children who look forward to participating in either our Kids Entrepeneur Club (ages 4-12) or our Teenage Entrepeneurs Club
Our Members call this community “The Bubble” and it is a VERY supportive, practical, profitable and family-friendly place to come and invest some time each quarter to reflect, refocus, learn some new business growth skills, and connect with a group of like-minded people who “get” what you’re going through in your business, and in the rest of your life because of what’s happening in your business; because ultimately , we know, your business exists to serve your life and not the other way around.
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.
3 Tools, Resources,
Data, Dashboards
(and much, much more)
We’ve been doing this since 1999. We have helped start, manage & grow THOUSANDS of law firms. We currently help to manage more than five hundred of some of the fastest-growing, most profitable and most fun to run small law firms in the world. And so yes, we have a TON of great stuff that we share with our Members too.
.png)
THE PAUSE involves a telephone, zoom or in-person discussion to get a deeper understanding of what’s happening in your business.
And we even share a TON of great stuff for FREE with law firm owners who are NOT help-rejecting-complainers, have a sincere desire to improve some aspect of their business and/or their life and who ask nicely. Afterall, we usually have a waiting list for Membership, we have more content than we know what to do with and more keeps getting created every week because we are actually DOING THIS in the real world with the 500+ law firms we help to manage; so why not share?
In fact, we have so much great stuff that we have to curate access to it because otherwise, people could get lost in our vaults. Ok they’re mostly digital vaults, but we like the imagery. Think: Indiana Jones ;-)
Alright, so the third primary thing we do for our Members is to curate access to what is arguably the world’s best archive of practical, real-world, battle-tested tools, templates, resources and combined centuries of experience, when it comes to the practical realities of building and running highly successful small law firms.
In fact, we have so much great stuff that we have to curate access to it because otherwise, people could get lost in our vaults. Ok they’re mostly digital vaults, but we like the imagery. Think: Indiana Jones ;-)
Alright, so the third primary thing we do for our Members is to curate access to what is arguably the world’s best archive of practical, real-world, battle-tested tools, templates, resources and combined centuries of experience, when it comes to the practical realities of building and running highly successful small law firms.
.png)
NO untested theories.
NO half-baked ideas.
NO "fragments" you have to figure out by yourself if and how to make it work in your law firm, and in your life.
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.
How It Usually Works
Before we’ll accept an Engagement to step-in and help grow a law firm, we’ll want to take a Pause to have an interview and conduct some due diligence. Because we know that “client selection” is just as important in our business, as you know it is in yours.
What’s Your definition of a “Successful” law firm
where is your business today (financially, personally & professionally); and where do you want it to be in 24 months?
How you feel about where your business is today
and how you imagine you would probably feel in 24 months, if we helped you get your business to where you want it to be instead.
How effective are the firm’s operations
and what prior experience do you have personally or by leveraging current staff in terms of: marketing, sales, management, leadership, financial controls; and what steps have already been taken that worked (or didn’t work) to make improvements in any of these areas in order to move the business from where it is now to where you want it to be in 24 months.
How committed are you to achieving your goals
what are your motivations; and how open you may be to making some of the changes that may be necessary to help you achieve your financial, personal & professional goals.
What is your general demeanor
we have a strict "No Assholes" policy.
When we accept an engagement from a law firm to help grow it the firm, the first thing that happens is a 12-week Crash Course to help you take inventory in each of the 7 Main Parts of your business; shore-up anything we find to be really causing problems for the firm; and we like to score some “quick wins” because we know from experience that once you get a taste of what is possible the rest of our working relationship will be much more productive and enjoyable.
New Members will usually begin with our “Foundation” Membership. This brings with it unlimited access to a very long list of tools, resources, experiences, advisors and so much more. A few of the highlights that are included in the Foundation Membership include:
Invitations for Equity Owners & your spouse/significant-other to participate in all Live Quarterly Meetings. We HIGHLY encourage the participation of your spouse/significant-other even if they don’t work in the firm. . . ESPECIALLY if they don’t work in the firm.
We LOVE it when we get hugs, high-five’s, thank you cards, homemade jam and testimonials from spouses or significant others who don’t work in and often don’t really understand what’s happening in the business; but who obviously have a big, vested interest in the success of the law firm and how it impacts their whole family!
New Members will usually begin with our “Foundation” Membership. This brings with it unlimited access to a very long list of tools, resources, experiences, advisors and so much more. A few of the highlights that are included in the Foundation Membership include:
Invitations for Equity Owners & your spouse/significant-other to participate in all Live Quarterly Meetings. We HIGHLY encourage the participation of your spouse/significant-other even if they don’t work in the firm. . . ESPECIALLY if they don’t work in the firm.
We LOVE it when we get hugs, high-five’s, thank you cards, homemade jam and testimonials from spouses or significant others who don’t work in and often don’t really understand what’s happening in the business; but who obviously have a big, vested interest in the success of the law firm and how it impacts their whole family!
All of these lawyers were once where you are today and had to make a decision about
the future of
their law firm
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.
.png)
.png)
.png)
.png)