How so many lawyers fool themselves that they're being productive...
In the last 38 years I've met a lot of lawyers who work very hard...but relatively few who are truly productive and make the profits that their training and experience warrants...
One particular problem is a lack of honesty and willingness to be self-critical in a positive way...
Many lawyers in 2012 are hopelessly out of touch with what they should be earning if they were truly effective..
Often they have capable secretarial and/or clerk assistance, but produce relatively little in fees...despite this they convince themselves they're doing ok...
Reason...they just accept the overhead costs of the support, but do not analyse what they should be producing with that help...
Often it's their partners who suffer because they "carry" the ineffective operator...insulating them for a time from inevitable disaster...
As just one example I saw a supposedly capable lawyer and secretary working 8 hours a day each and managing to collect for just 4.5 hours of that between them...
Conservatively they could be selling an extra 5.5 hours a day...let's assume Secretary at just $100/hr collected and lawyer at just $325/hr collected...
$325 X extra 2hrs... $650/day
$100 X extra 3.5 hrs...$350/day
$1000/day X 230..$230,000 additional revenue per annum or $2,300,000 over the next decade, and that's assuming no fee increases!
My aim is to help this lawyer to stop making excuses and start closing the gap...
Rob Knowsley LLB...lawyer, management consultant, motivational speaker, educator, dedicated to applying 48 years professional and business experience to help determined lawyers get the most from their skills. Established KMS 34 years ago...now advised 1380 Australasian law firms. Available to assist a select group of small firm lawyers serious about true excellence in their firms. Email...rknowsley@gmail.com or find me on Linkedin.
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