NCBA Law Practice Management Blog

JULY 22, 2023

Broadly speaking, lawyers take on too much. But, the fact is that this also has a direct effect on how much a lawyer can make. Hear me out: Because lawyers try to do everything, and to do everything perfectly, they’re also more prone than the general population to take on more work than they need to. You know how it is.

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NCBA Law Practice Management Blog

MAY 19, 2020

The legal field is still reeling; and, law firms are adjusting to a new world. For modern law firms to succeed, it’s clear that providing virtual services is now a requirement; it’s no longer optional. But, the change will ultimately benefit lawyers, too. But, the change will ultimately benefit lawyers, too.

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NCBA Law Practice Management Blog

AUGUST 9, 2024

Generally speaking, most law firm intake systems need a whole heck of a lot of work. But, while many law firms lose leads through their client journey, that probably could have been converted – there is one thing that law firms usually get right, in the intake process.

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NCBA Law Practice Management Blog

MARCH 18, 2020

Phone systems, and managing phone systems, are essential for law firms -- even if managing lawyers can tend to overlook the importance of such things. But, in a very real sense, law firm phone systems are really money machine s. This article offers a useful rundown of phone system options for the modern law firm.

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NCBA Law Practice Management Blog

DECEMBER 7, 2019

Lawyers are trained to be risk-averse, and to cling to the status quo.? Because lawyers manage law firms, change within those law firms happens at a glacial pace.? Yet, while law firms cling to the status quo, upstarts in other industries redefine life and culture.? I mean, you get the picture.

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NCBA Law Practice Management Blog

NOVEMBER 23, 2019

Every lawyer I’ve ever met wants to do everything on their own. In other words, every lawyer secretly desires to be a solo attorney. Neither are law firms good at instituting workflows that streamline business processes. But, that line of thinking can be replete with holes. Need help hiring? We can get you there.

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NCBA Law Practice Management Blog

JULY 20, 2024

Pre-pandemic, attorneys in a not insignificant number of states were disallowed from using ‘trade’ or ‘brand’ names for their law firms. You know, like ‘Taco Bell’ – though, you probably wouldn’t actually name your law firm Taco Bell. And, yet: few have. If you’re down for a rebrand, we can help!

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NCBA Law Practice Management Blog

SEPTEMBER 8, 2023

Law firms have quite a few options for getting their first, or a revised, website built (rebuilt). Sounds weird, I know – but, this relates back to a big problem that attorneys have: that they can’t seem to let go of doing everything, because lawyers feel like they’re the best at everything. They can design the best websites.

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NCBA Law Practice Management Blog

DECEMBER 28, 2020

The chief method for law firm business management is inertia, largely. That means you can pretty much default to lawyers doing nothing, rather than something, anything. Lawyers tend to run up accounts receivable, because they don’t bill regularly. Across the country, law firm rates struggle to keep up with inflation.

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NCBA Law Practice Management Blog

NOVEMBER 23, 2022

Law firms don’t often have partnership agreements. Especially small firms. Because, if a lawyer had a business owner for a client, said lawyer would most stringently advise that business owner to draft a partnership agreement , if that business owner was to enter upon a partnership. Oh, this one’s easy.

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NCBA Law Practice Management Blog

APRIL 28, 2020

Law firms that require paper-based signatures are committed to in-person meetings ; b ut, th ose may not always be feasible. In some cases, the decision is out of the lawyers’ hands, for example: during a personal, national or global disaster. Of course, there are ot her reasons why your law firm may want to utilize esignatures.

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NCBA Law Practice Management Blog

FEBRUARY 25, 2024

Booking initial consultations are essential for most law firms. That’s how the vast majority of lawyers vet their potential clients, and determine whether or not they are a fit for the firm. This makes the whole process seamless, for both the potential clients and the ir potential lawyers.

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NCBA Law Practice Management Blog

DECEMBER 29, 2022

Most solo and small firm attorneys think of their law firms as a salary replacement for a full-time law firm job, with some upside: both on income, and freedom. Lots of lawyers are looking to run out the clock on their practice, and then ride off into the sunset – or , work until they die. But, that’s it.

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NCBA Law Practice Management Blog

APRIL 19, 2022

In a perfect world, where you have ample time (riiiight), it’s probably best to have lawyers answering every call – and, the more senior the lawyer, the better. Wait, I’m actually talking to the lawyer?!) Some law firm actually employ this method. Have questions about your law firm intake process ?

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NCBA Law Practice Management Blog

NOVEMBER 9, 2021

But, if you run a business, especially a law firm. Stagnation is a problem with law firms; but, that’s largely because they stick to a systemless model, that ends up being the antithesis of routine. And, honestly: most lawyers don’t want to set up systems, because they’re worried about being bored.

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NCBA Law Practice Management Blog

MARCH 31, 2022

Lawyers are generally not super tech-savvy. Lawyers are just busy with substantive work. But, they do that in a way that is ad hoc , most often – which is how just about everything is done in law firms. Perhaps even have them own that role within the law firm ? That person may be a lawyer or a non-lawyer.

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NCBA Law Practice Management Blog

NOVEMBER 3, 2021

Arizona has recently stricken the rule barring non-lawyer ownership in law firms from its professional ethics code. Mixed ownership law firms are called ‘ alternative business structures ’ , and they already exist in other parts of the world, most notably the United Kingdom. This is the eye of the storm.

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NCBA Law Practice Management Blog

DECEMBER 1, 2021

Of course, adopting this approach usually requires a change in process management for faw firms. To accomplish th os e two main task s , lawyers need to delegate as many administrative and substantive tasks as they can. And yet, this remains a difficult thing for law firms to do. Hire an HR director. We can help.

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NCBA Law Practice Management Blog

MARCH 24, 2022

Small law firms generally have it pretty good, in that they’ve mostly had to compete only against other small law firms, that aren’t particularly innovative either , and that also don’t spend money aggressively to build their businesses. So, yes: Walmart can open law firms. That’s a whole new ball game.

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NCBA Law Practice Management Blog

DECEMBER 8, 2023

As law firms (slowly) try to dig out from under the hourly billing model (trap?), It’s kind of like a legal insurance policy, and it allows law firms to acquire recurring revenue. For estate planning attorney s , that c ould include access to lawyers, updates to estate plans and document libraries.

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NCBA Law Practice Management Blog

DECEMBER 21, 2021

The hardest thing about sticking to a law firm marketing strategy is. It’s all about consistency; and, most law firms will fail in that regard – instead producing content in fits and starts, without ever getting into a groove. Want to better structure your law firm marketing plan? well, sticking to it.

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NCBA Law Practice Management Blog

OCTOBER 15, 2023

Most lawyers who are billing hourly (which are still most lawyers) – and, even those who aren’t – continue to slavishly send out invoices at the beginning of every month, covering the fees accrued by clients for the prior month. That’s why some law firms are experimenting with more regular billing models.

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NCBA Law Practice Management Blog

DECEMBER 26, 2019

Perhaps the most damning of a series of damning facts about law firms released within the latest Clio Legal Trends Report ( link here ), is this: 89% of lawyers surveyed believed that their law firms followup with potential clients within 24 hours; 62% of law firms actually never follow up with leads at all.

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NCBA Law Practice Management Blog

MAY 11, 2021

The stats on law firm intake are pretty damning. 64% of voicemails left for law firms by leads are never returned. Only 1 in 3 phone calls for law firms are picked up live. It takes an average of 8 emails to schedule an appointment with a law firm. Want to review your intake process?

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NCBA Law Practice Management Blog

JULY 11, 2020

There are multi-fronted crises overtaking the American landscape, including those related to reopening of cultural institutions and business, like law firms. Just because your law firm office can be open, you need to decide whether it should be, to what extent it will be, and what you will require of your employees in that context.

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NCBA Law Practice Management Blog

JUNE 1, 2022

Lawyers make ad hoc decisions about business management , all the time. But, there is a pathway to make better decisions about how to run a law firm – and, as it turns out, the data’s right there in front of you. To get started, visit Red Cave's NCBA landing page , and start running your law practice like a business.

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NCBA Law Practice Management Blog

JUNE 8, 2021

Yet, law firms continue to require associates to move business forward. Managing partners often think, in these instances, about what the law firm needs. And, you can get creative here: general business skills apply to lawyers, too. There’s a lot in flux around the legal industry of late. Want to hire? We can help!

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NCBA Law Practice Management Blog

DECEMBER 3, 2023

Many attorneys, especially solo and small firm lawyers, get lost in the sauce – they can only see the forest, and becom e overwhelmed ; consequently , they are frozen , and ca n’t seem to take any positive action. If you want some help generating a viable task list for your law firm, contact us today!

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NCBA Law Practice Management Blog

JANUARY 19, 2021

As the coronavirus, resultant lockdowns, and their effect continue to press every sector of society, lawyers continue to respond to what they hope is a blip. So, ask yourself: Does your law firm operate on the same principles? Only , it’s not a blip. But, that has very little to do with COVID-19.

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NCBA Law Practice Management Blog

NOVEMBER 18, 2023

I was talking to a friend of mine, who runs a highly successful law firm, the other day. And, he told me ‘clients aren’t the problem, I need to hire good lawyers’. To get started, visit Red Cave's NCBA landing page , and start running your law practice like a business.

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NCBA Law Practice Management Blog

SEPTEMBER 1, 2021

When it comes to marketing content, most lawyers are concerned about what to write. The plain fact is that lawyers tend to write like lawyers, regardless of the audience. But, in reality, the more important question is how to write. That means they use 2-dollar words, legal terms of art and lots of Latin.

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NCBA Law Practice Management Blog

FEBRUARY 25, 2024

Now, this wasn’t always a thing; but, as of now: law firms in any jurisdiction of the United States can utilize ‘trade names’. What that effectively means is that, so long as you don’t choose a name that’s misleading, you can select a brand name for your law. Unless your law firm is winding up; then, don’t waste your time.

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NCBA Law Practice Management Blog

FEBRUARY 19, 2023

Since the COVID pandemic struck, and law firms were forced to immediately reenvision their intake processes as digital programs – attorney s have been more focused on the ‘ client journey ’ than ever before. Oftentimes, law firms will push that duty onto existing staff.

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NCBA Law Practice Management Blog

JULY 22, 2023

Some lawyer s get burned hiring staff, whether it’s legal assistant s , paralegals or other attorneys. In my experience, I’ve found that law firms connect on a successful hire (across all employee categories) about 40% of the time. 400 over a full seasons. over 80 years ago. 400 over a full seasons. over 80 years ago.

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NCBA Law Practice Management Blog

JANUARY 3, 2024

For lawyers who engage with the buying public – which is just about every lawyer, whether they’re working with consumers o r businesses – workshops can be a great way to build a client and referral base, as well as solidifying an attorney’s expertise. Workshops are like focus groups, and so have significant value, in th at way , too.

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NCBA Law Practice Management Blog

NOVEMBER 18, 2023

Of course, that can be a difficult thing for law firm business owners to get their heads around. That’s because most of them are lawyers – and lawyers are trained to be perfect, to never make mistakes, with the ever-present threat of an ethics claim hanging over their heads. But, running a business is not practicing law.

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NCBA Law Practice Management Blog

MAY 27, 2024

Law firm revenue usually has an ebb & flow to it, especially when you talk about firms that rely on hourly billing. Law firms can design some assumptions about what they’ll make by utilizing revenue projections. Lots of law firms I talk to will say they’re having a bad month, from time to time.

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