law practice management

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.

Whenever there is a staffing issue in a law firm, the traditional lawyer response has been to throw an attorney or paralegal at it. However, that’s not necessarily the wisest strategy.

Nobody wants to read anything anymore. I mean, you’re probably struggling to get through this article already.

“Work in Progress” (often abbreviated to WIP) is a representation of work outstanding for law firm clients. While most lawyers just let it ride and take it for granted that the work just keeps coming in and keeps getting done — WIP has some predictive powers that law firms are largely ignoring.

Yes, clients want your expertise and to talk about the legal process and state of the case, but they may not want you to schedule appointments with them, take a check from them or sit down for a signing meeting. And in reality, much of that is a waste of time for the attorney — who should be billing high value cases or marketing for them.

Managing partners often think about what the law firm needs. But even in an employer’s market, it pays to consider what your associates (and potential associates) actually do want — especially if you want those associates to stick around for a while along with all the capital you’ve invested in them.