Small Law Firms

Delegate Or Just Get Out Of Your Own Way

The law is a business, and good leaders run their companies and firms by delegating or outsourcing and trusting their team.

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Last month, I had the privilege of delivering several sessions on Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) stemming from my book for small law firms. A major takeaway from those sessions was that many lawyers are determined to handle a significant number of administrative tasks themselves. A recent social media interaction led to my tweet, “delegate or just get out of your own way.” I believe that lawyers should either delegate or outsource business processes and focus on the practice of law.

Before anyone jumps in and says that the above contradicts my usual remark, that the law is a business, consider the following:

  • When you visit your doctor, do you think that your MD implemented the practice management system herself? The chances are slim and most professionals and companies use administrative staff or experts to implement a system where required.
  • Do you believe that your doctor or nurse would find the time to learn to code a solution? As an aside, I find the idea that lawyers must code yet another example of poor delegation skills. Why would I divert into learning to code for my website which would take me likely 10 times as long and yield subpar results?
  • I am a professional accountant in two countries and yet I pay a company to do my company’s bookkeeping and a firm to do my taxes. I have the knowledge (maybe not so much with tax anymore!), but my time is better spent generating revenue from core business activities.

The law is a business, and good leaders run their companies and firms by delegating or outsourcing and trusting their team.

Stay in Your Lane

If you are not convinced, let’s take a different view of both the Clio Legal Trends and the Thomson Reuters State of Small Law reports. Both highlight the burden of running the business — Clio’s missing six hours includes almost four hours that are spent on office administration including billing, collections, plus “configuring technology.” Why are lawyers burdening themselves with tasks that can be outsourced or delegated?

I understand that the Thomson Reuters report is being updated with 2017 results, however, I imagine the results will be similar. In 2016, 69% of small firms surveyed reported spending too much time on administrative tasks, yet only 19% made any progress on this challenge. The takeaway is NOT to solve this by doing more yourself. Instead, analyze the best approach is for each of your firm’s processes and either delegate or outsource as much as possible.

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Let’s do the math: If you bill at $300 per hour and you are creating client bills for four hours, it costs $1200 to create those bills. I am confident that you can find someone in your firm or outsource for much less, while you instead earn the $1200.  Focus on finding new clients and providing legal services to generate the revenue to pay others to do the administrative work.

Review, Not Do

Once you delegate and relinquish control, you still oversee the firm’s results by reviewing regular reporting. You must get out of the weeds to see the big picture. To spot errors and trends, you cannot be the person also completing the detailed work. Therefore, your role is to review and make change.

What makes a good business person? Or a good boss? From a recent Facebook post about an attorney friend, it’s clear that her team reveres her, not just for her lawyering, but for savvy business skills. For example, instead of controlling the initial interaction with a potential client and needlessly tying herself up, she created a process for her administrative staff person to triage and only oversees the results. She spends more time practicing law and increasing profits, plus her team feels valued.

Finally, besides control, lawyers are risk averse — perhaps that is another reason attorneys hold onto aspects of a business that can either be outsourced or delegated. As we head into the new year, pick at least one process where you are spending valuable time that can be done by others. I would love to hear from lawyers as to why they resist shedding these tasks or feel that they must handle managerial functions themselves. Reach out on Twitter @maryjuetten. #onwards.

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Mary E. Juetten

Mary E. Juetten lives on the West Coast, holds a J.D., and is both an American and Canadian professional accountant. Mary is passionate about metrics that matter and access to justice. She founded Traklight and Evolve Law and consults as an Access Advocate for LegalShield. You can reach her by email at info@evolvelawnow.com or on Twitter: @maryjuetten.

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