Running a solo or small law firm means continuously asking yourself the hard questions, especially when it comes to effectiveness, growth, and client relations.
Having a solid law firm is one of the best things you can do to ensure effectiveness. Lawyers focus relentlessly on excellence and clients expect it. Knowing what the firm wants to do with its work and how it wants to help clients can be the key factor in every case.
However, there may come a time in which a law firm may encounter some areas where it hasn’t quite defined what it wants for years to come, and the people involved forget to go back to basics to get the answers to these questions.
There are some basic questions every law firm should ask itself at some point during its run. Whether the team in the law firm is small or big, knowing the answers to these questions can lead to a much better attorney-client relationship and a much more effective resolution to most cases.
Keep reading for more information on these questions!
What Do We Want?
Depending on how you look at it, this question may be either easy or hard to answer. Once a law firm starts working, the first thing to consider is what it wants to achieve in the future.
It’s important to note that in the law world, there are infinite opportunities that may come, and it’s vital for the company to know how it wants to tackle the case. One of the things that make law firms unique is how they handle each case, and the law firm may only achieve that “uniqueness” if it knows what it wants.
How Happy Are the Clients?
Maintaining a law firm for years involves knowing how to take responsibility for any mistakes or bad decisions, learn from them, and work to be better in the future. Great practice for law firms is to ask their clients whether they’re happy with the service or not.
One way to do this is by holding a survey where it asks its clients how they can improve the service in the long run. Surveys are an excellent way of providing the law firm an overview of how each client perceives the company and its team.
Once the law firm has the information, the team can gather and analyze the data to determine whether the overall customer satisfaction grade is high or low. If the customer satisfaction grade is low, then the law firm must start a plan to improve and make most clients as happy as possible.
How Do We Handle Hiring and Retention Policies?
It’s important to note that every law firm has particular policies to hire employees and keep them in the company. While there’s not a “correct” way to handle hiring and retention in a law firm, there are some things to consider if you don’t know where to start.
Some companies prefer education over experience, meaning they’re going to take people who have high-level education instead of people who have worked in the field for some time; other companies do the complete opposite, which is valid.
Most law firms handle hirings and firings every year, and it’s also vital for the firm to know what went right or wrong with these processes to be better in the future. For example, if many employees left on the previous year’s report, the law firm must investigate what made these people leave.
If the company doesn’t understand what made its employees leave, at a certain point, it may be difficult to hire someone else in the future. Setting up strict policies regarding the type of employee the law firm has is vital to have a more solid team in the future.
How High Are Stress Levels in the Office?
A high percentage of workers feel stressed while they work, regardless of the field, they’re working in. Law firms are popular for having stressful working environments, which is why the law firm needs to determine if there’s anything that’s making the environment unnecessarily stressful for people.
After gathering the required data, the company can start making a plan to make the workplace much more comfortable for everyone.
How High is Employee Satisfaction?
A law firm is nothing without its attorneys and staff. It’s vital to keep every employee comfortable during the year, and there are many ways to do it. An excellent way to promote employee appreciation is to hold particular events over the year to make employees have a good time; these can be dinners, Christmas parties, and others.
Still, even saying “Thank you” can make all the difference for a law firm’s employees.
Have We Checked Online Reviews?
The internet is an excellent place for clients to search whether a company is good or bad. While some online reviews may not be helpful at all, there are some with constructive criticism that the company can use to be better in the future.
Make sure to check popular review sites, such as Yelp, to determine how the law firm is doing.
Are we in a high-demand niche? Or How secure is your firm?
Bottom Line
While these questions may seem basic, they can help any law firm make a solid plan to improve in the future. A law firm that listens to its clients has a bright future ahead.
About The Author
The Silver & Silver law firm has worked with several clients for over 40 years, making it a reputable and reliable firm that knows what it wants to provide to the public.
