I’ve been a lawyer for a few years now, and I’ve had a lot of experiences. Whether I’ve been helping my clients or just having some lame conversations with other lawyers about the firm, I feel like I’ve learned a lot.
Here are some things I wish I knew before starting my own law firm:
- Assemble Your Team
When deciding whether to go to law school, it is important to find the right school that will give you the training you need and the mentorship you desire. But there is more to law school than just the classroom. There are also extracurricular activities you can take part in, which can make your experience in law school more fulfilling.
Although I have a great team, I can’t share the best part of my job with my friends. I would love to have a few more people to gain a critical mass of knowledge and expertise in my field. I’m sure I’ll get better at my job. But I’d also like to share my knowledge and expertise with people I care about, and that’s something I wish I knew when I started this firm.
- Marketing Matters
In the world of marketing, there are a lot of options when it comes to advertising on the internet. Some people decide to buy Google AdWords, while others simply buy ads on Google or Facebook. Others prefer to buy ad space on Google AdSense, while others go all-in on Bing, Yahoo, or even Pinterest. I personally believe the best way to advertise your business is on your website, simply because it is the best place to reach your target customers. However, not all websites have a good website builder or are technologically advanced enough to easily add their own content, which is often why business owners opt for other advertising platforms.
The Internet has made marketing easier than ever, and many businesses these days will have a strong internet connection from somewhere like optimum internet in order to keep everyone online and able to do the tasks that they need to each day. When it comes to marketing, you’ll find everything from an infinite number of blogs to podcasts, videos, Twitter, and Facebook. These different marketing mediums all serve a valuable purpose in building a brand, but you have to be careful not to overdo it. You don’t want to come across as too self-absorbed or too hard sell.
- The most important thing to know about starting a law firm is that you will likely have a lot of fights with your partners. Don’t take it personally.
We all know that a law firm can be a stressful place. You have to conform to a schedule that doesn’t allow you to work some days or hang out on the weekends. You have to deal with people you may not get along with. And you have to deal with clients and associates who may or may not be as knowledgeable as you. The first thing you should know when starting your law firm is that you will have a lot of fights with your partners. Don’t take it personally.
- Recording Your Systems and Processes
When I started a law firm, I took care of all the legal paperwork, and I had a copy of the client’s file with me as if I had been doing this for years. However, there was so much more that I didn’t know and that I needed to know. I had to learn how to use a word processor, how to create a template, how to set up e-mail alerts, how to enter data, and how to format and print.
Fortunately, everything has become digital these days and one doesn’t need to keep the hard copies of the data or files. By investing in an efficient law document management system, a law firm can get these tasks and many more sorted quite efficiently. With this, they can focus on serving their client’s needs better.
Apparently, systematic recording of business processes and data had never been easier. There are many tools to help businesses, some free, and others require a small investment. Companies like KWizCom make tools that vary in cost and complexity, stand-alone apps to those requiring a subscription or even a dedicated app for your enterprise.
This is the perfect time of year to test out your knowledge for those who enjoy systems analysis. By creating a list of systems and processes across your company, you will be able to identify areas of weakness and strengthen your process. Once an initial analysis is done, it might also be a prudent idea to look at some business management systems for your company processes, to increase efficiency across the board.
If you are in the process of establishing a small business, this might be a good time to identify the processes and systems that need to be in place.