Seeing the Big Picture to Secure Long-Term Success at Your Law Firm

If you are like many attorneys these days, you are constantly trying to keep up with your caseload, client requests, and office administration. Work is piled on your desk, and you probably have clients and staff vying for your attention. Distractions make it hard to get through the tasks in front of you.

It is easy to get into this tunnel vision, moving from one immediate task to the next. Sometimes this is necessary to ensure everything gets done. But keeping your head down too long can keep you from seeing the big picture and thinking about long-term success.

The Big Picture

Pushing through the work directly in front of you is a short-term strategy that will help you meet immediate needs. However, it doesn’t allow you to plan for the long-term success of your firm.

Block out some time on your calendar each week to work on your firm’s issues that may be holding you back from reaching long-term goals. Call a staff meeting to evaluate and find ways to improve processes, create or implement new marketing strategies, and explore new practice areas that might benefit your clients.

↠ 3 Key Strategies for Marketing a New Practice Area ↞

Related Fields of Work

Some attorneys want to focus their careers on a specific area of the legal field, while others want a broader practice. If you are in the latter category, be on the lookout for new services you can offer your existing clients. You may get repeated requests for help with legal matters in a new area. Rather than referring them to a colleague, you could take it on yourself. Ask your existing clients which legal areas would be most convenient and allow them to continue to work with you more often.

Learning to work in new areas of the legal field lets you offer more to your existing clients and attract new clients, increasing your firm’s viability. Training other members of your firm in the new area of law you are venturing into will increase your firm’s ability to grow successfully in a new field.

Let Others Know about the New Work

After you’ve decided to offer your legal services in a new area, make sure people know about it.

• Mention changes at your firm in a newsletter to your clients
• Add the new practice area to your website
• Write a blog post or two about why and when you are expanding your services
• Conduct a webinar or an in-person presentation to educate clients about new practice areas

Partnering with non-legal professionals who complement this new area can be an excellent way to acquire referrals for new clients. Reach out to organizations that provide services to people with potential legal needs. They may include the local Small Business Association, financial or tax advisors, healthcare workers, and community services.

>>> Gaining New Clients Through Digital Advertising <<<

Outsource

One way to open up more time for working on big-picture issues and long-term strategies is by outsourcing some of the regular tasks that you and your staff have on your plates, like document creation, accounting, billing, and marketing. Technology and resources allow smaller law firms to act like larger companies. If you don’t have the necessary tools in-house, hire someone who can get the job done for you.

Streamlining Your Marketing Strategy

The areas of marketing and communications are often the first areas to get overlooked by busy law firms. If you need help with your law firm’s marketing tasks, contact Law As a Business (LAB). We help practitioners and firms run efficient, profitable law firms through creative solutions.

Audit and improve your firm’s digital presence.

Digital marketing is essential to building trust with potential clients, current clients, and referral sources. Just like your own health, it’s important to check in on your law firm’s digital marketing presence regularly to ensure it’s running at its full potential. Watch this video to learn the elements of a healthy marketing strategy and how to assess your firm’s online presence.