Easy Steps for Growing Your Law Practice

Being an expert in your branch of the law doesn’t necessarily mean that your law practice will just grow on its own. When one is at the helm of a business of any kind, they need to realize that there is more to growth than just being good at your job. You need to know how to present your practice in the best way possible, how to handle your revenue and, of course, how to maintain your reputation at a satisfactory level. With this in mind, here are several steps that could make the process of growing your law practice run more smoothly.

Set a client capacity

The number one rule for any new business is that you should never accept more work than you can handle. This is especially true when running a law practice, seeing as how each of your clients will require a significant portion of your attention. Needless to say, neglecting your clients is one of the easiest ways to gain a bad reputation in this industry. In order to avoid this, you need to establish your firm’s client capacity and turn down any offer that comes your way once you’re already capped. Although some may claim that turning people away might be a bad business practice, letting the quality of your service drop during your firm’s infancy is actually much worse.

Look at the numbers

The next thing you should do is try putting all your income, outcome and tasks on paper. For instance, not all legal services you provide are bringing your company the same revenue. Sometimes, a certain service takes a disproportionally large effort for the income it brings. This time and energy could probably be utilized much better. Not to mention that there are some tasks you simply loath, which usually makes them drain you much faster. After seeing the numbers, it will be easier for you to make the right call. Apart from this, you can also determine which tasks, services and actions bring you the greatest revenue, so that you can use this newly freed time to focus on these tasks instead.

Consult with industry veterans

Seeing as how there are so many niche-specific things to look out for in every branch of the law, it might be a good idea to seek out veterans of your industry and ask them for advice. For instance, if you want to start a practice which specializes in criminal law, you would do well to reach out to respected criminal lawyers first.

Another thing that is vital for you to keep in mind is that even the law firms in your own niche aren’t necessarily your bitter rivals. In the first section, we talked about setting a client capacity, which is necessary seeing as how most well-managed law practices already have their hands full. In other words, if you approach someone else for help, they aren’t likely to dread you stealing their clients away when they already have so much work that they have to turn people away.

Look for growth capital

Finally, you need to keep in mind that most young enterprises can barely afford to stay afloat, let alone expand, which is why you have to find a way to provide your company with some growth capital. Here, you have several options which range from taking out yet another loan, selling an asset or finding a business partner. While the last idea may seem the most appealing, keep in mind that making a bad choice of partner might cost your company much more in the long run. As your company grows in both size and reputation, you might have a much easier time attracting potential investors, which may be the superior option for you.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, growing your law practice is not a complicated issue, yet, it is one that takes a lot of hard work and long-term planning. Like with heading any other type of business, you need to know your capabilities and look for the most cost-effective way of putting them to work. Making a mistake early on can cost your company dearly, so try to collect as much useable information as soon as possible. Put everything on paper, talk to your clients and, above all, try talking to someone a bit more experienced before it’s too late for them to help you out.