subject: How To Use Your Law Practice As A Tool To Serve Your Lifestyle [print this page] I hear a lot of lawyers boasting about how they're answering some higher calling by practicing law. They want to serve the public, help right wrongs and uphold justice. I can respect that. I love a good dose of justice as much as the next lawyer. The difference is I know that the legal profession is above all a business, and we need to run a successful law firm if we want to actually help our clients.
It's a Law Firm, Not a Charity
You're not going to be a legal hero to anyone if you can't afford the lease on your office or the proper research materials to try their case. You're supposed to be running a successful law firm, not a charity, and you need to ensure that your business is profitable and can sustain itself before you are serving clients.
The best way you can serve your clients besides the vast amount of legal knowledge and experience in your head is the comfort that you're a stable, successful law firm to patronize. Very few clients would trust a lawyer who can't support a professional, experienced image.
Your Successful Law Firm's Image
Image is a big part of a clients' decision to hire a lawyer. Many people admit that they hire professional services based on how they perceive them at face value. The office atmosphere, lawyer's physical presence, and little details about their personal life like family and hobbies all add up to the image many clients attach to your successful law firm.
If you're not running your law firm like a business and drawing in the revenue to upkeep the image you want to present, chances are you're missing out on some of your ideal clients. There's a saying that to attract money you need to spend money and this is true in many cases.
Don't Feel Guilty About Success
If you were in any other profession - baker, mechanic, doctor, etc. - and you could afford to rent your workspace, pay your employees, keep your supplies in stock, and have a good cushion saved for a crisis all while serving clients, would you feel guilty? Of course not! You'd feel successful, especially in this economy.
As a successful law firm, you are serving clients just as those other professions do. You should expect to be paid for that service, and when you become successful at getting the job done, the only thing you should be worrying about is keeping that success going.
Success Through Legal Marketing
Marketing is one of the most important jobs in your practice. Without marketing, you don't get clients, and without clients you don't have a practice. But of course, you can't spend all your time on marketing, which is where you can develop methods to generate business without much continued effort.
Developing a marketing strategy that works for you and doesn't require you to babysit the operations 24/7 will allow you to enjoy your free time away from the office. When you have a successful law firm with a legal marketing operation that generates clients and revenue, you can start living your ideal lifestyle and stop worrying about your business.
