It is critical for your business to align itself with competent and ethical business partners. Mediocre business partners can have a devastating impact on your firm. Every business partner, no matter the size or how often they are utilized, must be transparent, ethical, competent and communicative.

In today’s environment, networking is a key factor in building professional relationships and an attorney can easily spend a good part of their day networking, if they don’t manage their time appropriately. It is important, therefore, that legal professionals choose wisely those groups that will make a real difference for his/her business.

With so much technology at our fingertips, individuals are inundated with information in the form of email, text messages, news alerts and social media notifications. As a business, it can be difficult to cut through all of the “digital noise” and connect with people; branded touchpoints are more important than ever.

In recent years, an alarming number of law firms of all sizes have failed. It is important to understand what happened with these firms and install certain procedures to avoid similar circumstances. These procedures should help any firm to thrive in the near-term and long-term future.

In most law practices, a qualified professional can predict the costs associated with operating a firm relatively accurately. Most expenses are easily forecasted including salaries, facilities and technology. However, revenue is a bit more difficult to predict.

When considering a lateral move to another firm, it is important for an attorney to make the appropriate inquiries into each potential firm. A thorough investigation into any potential new firm is necessary, now, more than ever as the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the practice of law. Remote work is very common and will continue to exist. A prudent potential lateral will examine the new firm’s financial documents and meet with firm leaders to gauge the firm’s overall health. A lateral candidate does not want to join a firm that is not financially sound or has not adapted to the current environment. By doing so, attorneys risk losing their clients, who are more likely to seek new counsel with a more stable firm, if they feel their current attorney has not performed proper due diligence when moving the practice.

When considering starting a boutique law firm, there are many issues that need to be addressed prior to the first day of business. For instance, if a lawyer is leaving another firm, it is critical that the lawyer read any documentation or current firm policies regarding clients and transferring data. The lawyer should make sure that the departure is as transparent and non-adversarial as possible. In some instances (especially with equity partners), it would make sense to engage a business attorney.

Communication with clients and prospective clients has always been very important. Due to the current climate, it is even now more important to ensure that clients and potential new clients are receiving the communications that they want, in the format that they want, and when they want them. Proper communication from everyone in a firm…

2020 was a year of trials and tribulations which cultivated a desire for greater understanding from other people. Now in 2021, “human compassion towards co-workers and clients will be an expected and welcomed change” according to Nancy Griffing and Robert Rice, both partners with 3545 Consulting. The two spoke on the topic and highlighted the ways in which compassion will marry with technology and what this means for the future of the legal industry on February 25th, during a Zola Suite-sponsored ALA Webcast.