I have spent the past several posts outlining how I define the Perfect Practice. To summarize my view:

The perfect law practice…

1. is a practice that serves your life.

2. is systems driven.

3. is timeless (i.e. operates on a value pricing model).

4. is focused on extraordinary client service.

5. charges premium fees for premium service.

6. is comprised of a winning team.

7. is the the deliberate and natural result of an effective leader.

Now, that I’ve demonstrated my bias and beliefs about what makes the perfect law practice, we will turns to more practical matters - like how to make your solo or small law practice perfect. The next posts will begin exploring very practical steps you can take to make your law practice perfect. We will discuss operational strategies, staffing issues, leadership, financial models, client satisfaction, lots of marketing (and even sales) and more! Stay tuned.

And, I’d love to hear your feedback - questions, comments, what you agree with or disagree with - please give me your feedback in the comments section of the blog.

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The Perfect Practice is the the deliberate and natural result of an effective leader.

A perfect law practice is not found.  It is intentionally designed and created.  Like any complex and wonderful creation, it is the deliberate result and reflection of its creator.

The leader of the perfect practice has many attributes and skills.  Here is my short list of them:

• Vision
• Focus
• Passion
• Self confidence
• Self discipline
• Optimism
• Persistence
• Well defined goals
• Communication skills (including listening, speaking and presenting skills)
• Negotiating skills
• An understanding of human behavior

The importance of the above traits and how to cultivate them will be the subject of future posts.

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The Perfect Practice is comprised of a winning team.

In Good to Great, Jim Collins identifies the fact that one of the key traits of companies that went from good to great was their emphasis on their people.

The Perfect Practice must focus on recruiting, hiring, training, and compensating competent and caring staff.  As mentioned in another post, systems should be in place to make sure this happens as a matter of course.

All members of the team must have an understanding of the firms purpose, mission and goals.  These are the key people that will deliver your client experience. 

One critical component is a compensation system that encourages and rewards results and leads to the overall performance and growth of the firm.

All of these issues will be covered in more detail in subsequent posts.

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The Perfect Practice charges premium fees for premium service.

Because of their dedication to extraordinary client service and value, lawyers at the Perfect Practice are able to charge premium fees.

This does a number of things:

• it drives off low paying business that you should not want anyway;
• it allows you to focus on quality instead of quantity (think Nordstrom’s not Wal Mart; Mercedes not Yugo); and
• by reducing the number of cases it allows the staff and lawyers to deliver better service (a self perpetuating model of excellence).

The keys to being able to charge premium fees are as follows:

1. specialization
2. differentiation
3. extraordinary client service

These will be discussed in more detail in subsequent posts.

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The Perfect Practice is focused on extraordinary client service.

Every point of contact with prospects and clients is reviewed and determinations are made as to how to WOW the client at each such point.

Value added service is not just a catch phrase in the Perfect Practice. It is the modus operandi.

Client expectations (related to service, if not results) are exceeded. This, of course, requires that client expectations be documented at the beginning of each engagement.

Client feedback is regularly gathered. There is a client complaint recovery system in place. This is one of the areas where the systems approach referenced in this earlier post comes into play.

The cornerstone to growing any practice must be clients that are willing to tell others how happy they were with the service they received from their lawyer. The fact that so few clients are will make it that much easier to differentiate from your competitors on this point.

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The Perfect Practice is timeless.

That is to say its lawyers do not trade their time for a set hourly rate.  Now, I know this assertion is likely to be controversial.  And, perhaps there are exceptions.  But, in my view, they are exceptions, not the rule.

For many reasons that will be reviewed at length on this site later, I assert that fixed fee/value billing is the way to go.  Many lawyers will claim it cannot be done.  That is simply not the case.  I have a specialty divorce litigation practice.  If there were ever a practice area where one could claim that you can’t set a fixed fee because the nature of the case lends itself to uncertainty, it is mine. 

But, we successfully do it anyway.  I will explore this issue in great detail explaining how and why we do it in subsequent posts on the subject.  For now, understand that utilizing value billing is the single greatest decision I’ve made in my practice.  Don’t be a slave to a time sheet.  You will enjoy the freedom that this approach provides.  You will make more money.  And, your clients will love it because you no longer are expecting them to “write you a blank check” at the start of an engagement.

By the way, for the best resources on value billing in a professional practice buy any of Ron Baker’s books (my favorite to date is The Firm of the Future, but I own and recommend everything he writes).

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The Perfect Practice is systems driven. 

Proper systems will include checklists, scripts, forms and instructions.  Proper systems will lead to a consistently good client experience.  Get the systems in place.  Train the staff and lawyers to use the systems.  Review the systems consistently and improve upon them. 

By the way, allow other team members to help you develop the systems.  Don’t attempt to do this on your own (you can’t anyway).  If you did, the rest of your team would resent it.  You want their involvement in developing the systems so you will have their commitment in executing them.

Its my belief that every law practice should contain at least the following four primary systems:

(1) Financial Systems - These would include things like a dashboard to track important Performance Indicators monthly, a system for making sure there is a written fee agreement in every case, and a system to make sure the firm is paid every dollar it is owed on a timely basis;

(2) Marketing Systems - These would include a referral marketing system, automated lead generation systems, lead conversion systems (i.e. specific steps to convert a prospect into a client), and a publicity system;

(3) Operating Systems - These would cover how the work is completed, how calendars are kept, how deadlines and reminders are maintained, etc.; and 

(4) Staffing Systems - These would cover employee hiring, retention, training, compensation and management, as well as outsourcing.

Don’t feel overwhelmed by this list.  Its not something you do overnight.  In fact it will take several months to get the initial systems in place and even then they will be works in progress.  I’ll give some suggestions on how I’ve implemented such systems into my practice.  But, in the meantime, choose one area and start working on it for an hour or two a week.

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The Perfect Practice serves your life.

We will get to the very practical stuff soon.  But, first we need to look at the forest, not the trees.  And, this is a critical distinction.  You must have a practice that serves your life, not a life that serves your practice.

Too few lawyers get this.  Many of us are so busy putting out fires, billing hours, trying cases, dealing with clients, etc. that we never step back and reassess (or assess for the first time) why we are doing so.  The purpose of starting a law practice (or any business for that matter) should be to create something that then serves as a vehicle to take you where you want to go in your life.

The practice serves you.  You do not serve the practice.  In fact, my definition of a perfect law firm is a one which is no longer dependent on me.  Once you’ve built that, if you want to only work 2 days a week, fine.  If you want to take the summer off, fine.  If you never want to go into the office, fine.  You make these decisions for yourself.  You aren’t trapped into going to the office for fear that everything will implode and cease to exist.  It is about autonomy.  It is about freedom.

How is that possible?  Well, that is precisely the subject of this blog.  Stay tuned!

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