Tiger Tactics: Best Advice

There is no shortage of advice out there about starting and running a law firm. So much so that it is its own cottage industry. 

There are limitless courses, gurus, books, coaches, programs, masterminds - all promising the keys to the law practice kingdom. The reason for this is that running a law practice is really hard. There is a lot out there that cuts against you. Namely lack of access to start up capital, high costs of entry, and endless regulatory requirements. Not to mention clients and judges and opposing counsel. 

Over the years I have consumed a lot of advice in this space. Here’s the best of what I have learned.

Focus On Doing Great Things

Your practice, firm, and life exists for a reason. Our time here is limited. You must soul search and figure out your purpose and then live for that purpose. It is the only way that I know to be happy and successful. 

When you focus on being great at all you do the money will follow. If you focus on the money you will never be great. 

Focus. Period.

Assume you can make livable money in whatever practice area you do. What is it that you want to do? It is better to be known for being the best or one of the best at something than it is to be known as someone who takes whatever comes through the door.

The sooner you move to doing one thing the faster you grow. Your marketing will be focused. You will be building systems to deliver consistent and repeatable results in that practice area. You will spend a lot less time figuring things out. 

Vision + Systems + Execution = A Viable Business

All business advice boils down to this. You need to know exactly where you are going, the systems that will get you there, and you need to get your hands dirty and execute.

Sometimes, I hear lawyers who hang their own shingle say “I run my own business”. And that’s often not true. Those lawyers are often self employed. They are free agents in the market place. 

But it’s not until you work on building your business systems that you actually have a business. The first time you write down how you do something it may seem silly. You may be all by yourself. For example, you know your mail handling procedure cold - why write it down? The act of writing down your mail handling procedure is your first step in going from being self employed to being a business.

Go National

Some of the best money that I have spent on my practice is on attending national conferences for both personal injury and practice management.

I have found folks on a national scale more willing to share their insights, struggles, and systems with me than folks in my backyard. 

These seminars may be many times more than you would pay to go to your local CLE. But whatever you do, the sooner you sign up and pay that fee, the sooner your practice will improve. 

I would be lost without the help of lawyers from across this country. 

Fail Fast

You are going to fail. And sometimes failing will hurt. 

You must fail fast. There is never enough time and money to pour into something that isn’t working and isn’t likely ever to work.

The sooner you accept your failure, learn from it, and move on - the better off you are going to be in practice.

Your business needs room to experiment if you are going to grow. Create that room by failing fast.

Keep On Taking Risks

The Monday after I left my partnership, I got a call from a senior lawyer who had heard what happened.

He said “kid, whatever you do, keep on taking risks”. 

And I have heard that voice many times over after losses. If you do this right you are going to lose and going to lose big sometimes. And when you lose, playing it conservative may seem like the best course of action. 

But from my experience, the best course of action is usually to continue to take smart risks. This after learning from your mistakes.

Don’t Get Distracted by Shiny Things

When we don’t have a real vision it is easy to default to shiny things. Some new software, an iPad, a flashy car.

One of the discussions that has been coming up frequently in my talks is where do I write my systems? Should I use Sweet Process, or Google Docs, or a Wikipedia page?

The answer is it doesn’t matter. The better answer is use the platform you will use. But get to work and write your systems. Don’t confuse deciding between nearly identical platforms with anything other than procrastination.

Whether or not something is a shiny thing depends on your vision. If your vision is to build your business through referrals than buying a suite to a sporting event and inviting referral sources to join you may be a great idea. If you have no vision you may just end up buying tickets for your friends - a shiny thing.

Treat Yourself Well

Meditate, go to therapy, and exercise. 

This thing of ours can be a stressful mess. Even in the best of times the margins seem too thin. There are so many pressures. 

You cannot help others if you don’t take care of yourself.

_______________________

This is my contribution to the "Best Advice" chapter in Tiger Tactics: Powerful Strategies for Winning Law Firms.

You can read my co-authors contributions to this chapter by clicking here: Tiger Tactics: Powerful Strategies for Winning Law Firms.

Tiger Tactics is now available in paperback (356 pages) for $19.99 or Kindle Edition for $9.99. We priced this book to be affordable. I started my practice with $2500 comprised of several hundred dollars that I had saved in change and stored in a fishbowl. Paying $100+ for a book at the time would have been a significant burden to me.

If price is an issue, message me here and I'll send you a free copy. No questions asked.