A successful law firm does not necessarily mean it is a growing law firm. However, if you have identified growth as the top priority for your law firm in 2022, this is how you can accelerate acquiring new clients.
1. Focus on what is important
If you are drowning in meaningless and routine tasks that are not allowing you to concentrate on those tasks that will ensure growth, it’s time to identify which ones are most important. First, evaluate your daily responsibilities and decide which duties are more profitable to your firm. Then, make yourself responsible for these essential billable tasks and delegate the rest to other capable team members.
2. Run a productive law firm
Unfortunately, law firms always have more tasks than available time to complete them. Smaller law firms cannot have an abundance of dedicated personnel, and most team members have to put their weight behind these non-billable tasks. Therefore, handling these tasks does reduce your law firm’s efficiency.
Increasing everyone’s efficiency will help you run a more productive law firm. The best way to do this is the track everyone’s work and separate it into two sections: billable and non-billable duties. Then, once you identify which office management tasks are wasting the team’s time, you can decide which appropriate action will counter the problem.
Delegate responsibilities and encourage monotasking to ensure everyone completes billable tasks before tackling administrative work.
3. Use legal technology to your advantage
Technology and AI offer you several advantages, including growth. The benefits of letting software complete previously time-consuming and repetitive tasks include efficient analytical and accurate work, organized storage, comparison of documents, and information analyses that make your office more productive. With AI, you even have the option of having a virtual receptionist.
4. Grow your team
Don’t wait until you have a severe shortage of staff before hiring. On the other hand, be careful not to place an unnecessary financial burden on your law firm by hiring too many people.
Maintaining a small team is a big mistake often made by smaller law firms because they think they are saving money. However, a growing law firm that meets all its client demands needs staff members to complete the increased workloads.
Some signs warn you it is time to take on more staff, and these include turning down new clients, struggling to offer quality service, working overtime, and there is never time to work on your growth strategy.
5. Outsourcing legal and accounting work
Legal outsourcing is a valuable resource to help you cope with specific tasks as you grow your firm, especially if it is too soon to hire more full-time staff. Use a firm with a good reputation and experienced legal professionals who are discreet.
If your team and you are struggling to keep up with the monthly bookkeeping, consider the services of an accounting firm. Not only are they trained to do it properly, but you will have more time to take on new clients.
6. Marketing in a competitive legal world
Word of mouth about your excellent legal services is not enough to generate growth in the competitive legal industry. You can use older marketing tactics like billboards and advertising in local media. However, prospective legal clients are mostly starting their search for a lawyer online, so you must market your service where they are.
Reach your target audience by creating a brand and marketing it effectively across social media and relevant SEO blog content. Don’t ignore your website because this is where future clients will look to see what services you offer. Make sure it is optimized, mobile-friendly, intuitive, and easy to navigate.
7. Grow your network to reach new clients
Besides marketing, there is another way for new clients to discover your law firm – playing a proactive role in your community. Reach out to new clients with a professional networking approach that includes attending legal conferences, local charity events, etc. The more you are seen within your community, the more visible your law firm is.
Final word
These seven tips require some effort from you, but they will help grow your law firm in 2022. Streamline the way you run your office, especially how you and your team manage your billable hours; employ extra help, use technology to your advantage and use all the marketing tactics available.
