Work-life balance has become the buzzword for even the most workaholic lawyer. Every attorney wants to achieve some balance between their personal life and professional obligations. But how do solo-practitioners create balance when everything in their practice depends on their ability to do the work? Fortunately, there are some tactics solo attorneys can use to create a good work-life balance and still thrive in their practice.

Share The Burden

There are essentially two ways solo attorneys can share the burden of running their practice:

• Outsource to other attorneys
• Outsource to non-attorneys

If you’re looking to outsource to other attorneys, you can hire another attorney to join you as a partner or you can work with a “back up” attorney who has her own firm.  Both options have their drawbacks and benefits.

Taking On A Partner

Taking on a partner means that you will have someone who can share equally in the work, help you secure clients, and help you meet your monthly expenses.  But you must also share the power and profits with your partner. Since trust is essential for any partnership to work, you probably only want to partner with someone who you’ve known professionally (and personally) for some extended period of time. For many attorneys, the logistics and risk involved with taking on a partner just doesn’t seem worth it, especially in the beginning of growing their firm.

Hiring A Back Up Lawyer

No one can work 24 hours a day, 365 days a year for years on end. This is why having someone who can take on the work when you’re away on vacation or out sick can relieve much of the stress associated with working as a solo attorney. Your back up attorney doesn’t need to be a full-time (or even part-time) employee, they can be another attorney who has his own firm. As long as they are willing to pick up the slack when you’re away, then it can be a mutually beneficial arrangement. Hammer out an agreement and test out the arrangement to make sure it’s a good fit before you commit to a long-term relationship.

Hire An Admin

Much of the work solo attorneys become swamped with is administrative in nature—returning phone calls, scheduling appointments, sending out invoices etc. Hiring a part-time administrative assistant can free up more time that can be used for billable tasks or much needed time away from the office. Don’t worry too much about cost because much of the cost can be absorbed by the additional money you will earn when your billable hours increase. There are many options available to hire cyber secretaries—people who can do administrative tasks online. However, you’ll need to decide if onsite help works better for your law practice. Depending on your administrative needs, onsite help may be more practical and useful. But that’s up to you to decide. Feel free to experiment with both onsite and online administrative assistants before you make a long-term choice.

Prioritize Your Life

It’s very tempting to dive into your solo practice 200%, neglecting other aspects of yourself such as your health and family life. However, such behavior actually decreases productivity and happiness. Once you share the burden of your law practice, commit at least some of that free time to your personal life. Time away from the office will actually make you refreshed and ensure that you stay in fighting shape for the next challenge in your solo practice.

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Lynn Luong is the Digital Marketing Manager for Smokeball, a case management software that increases productivity and efficiency for solo attorneys  and small law firms to become more profitable.  Lynn has over 8 years of experience in marketing with a focus on digital by developing successful strategies and managing many areas of marketing.