Laying The Foundation For Your Law Firm 

If you want to grow your business, you need help to scale.

One of the biggest reasons solo attorneys remain solos is because they do not want to deal with the hassle of managing a staff member. I am in several solo and small firm attorney groups. I am honestly shocked by the number of lawyers who do everything by themselves. Another reason attorneys do not want to hire any help is that they can actually do everything themselves. (They also know where all the bodies are hidden.) Also, finding a reliable staff member is an expensive, time-consuming effort and often doesn’t guarantee longevity, reliability, and productivity from that hire. The final reason I’ll give for attorneys who choose to remain solo is the actual cost of supporting another paycheck in a business. No one wants to hire and then have to fire due to budgetary shortfalls.

Many attorneys are very satisfied with running a solo firm but may deal with plateaus in revenue or eventual burnout from managing everything independently. If you want to grow your business, you need help to scale. This help may be an independent contractor like a drafting paralegal or an employee of the practice. A solo attorney can get help without burning themselves out and dealing with the drama that often comes with hiring people. The answer lies in aligning the foundation of your business to every hire. Here are some things to consider.

Know Thy Firm

It’s imperative to know your law firm’s mission, vision, values, and ideal clients. Not only is it essential to find a candidate who fits the job description as an employee, but it is also vital that the person aligns with your law firm. The candidate must also know what your law firm is about and the ideal clients you serve to meet the needs of their position with purpose, clarity, and a shared objective. Suppose one of your firm values is care, and you want to shepherd a client through the turmoil of a divorce proceeding. In that case, you don’t want a dismissive and impatient administrative assistant answering your phones or a cold intake coordinator. Hiring someone who is not a culture-fit at your firm poses a problem when they disagree with how you run things because they don’t have fundamentally aligned values — even though they are technically qualified for the actual role. A misaligned hire can also affect the law firm’s culture and general mood of the office; when part of a small team, a bad hire can devastate a law practice.

Document Everything

The beauty of being a true solo who has done everything on their own is that you can write down or record how you do everything. Then, you can transfer that information to the next hire at your law firm. For example, if you have a script for an intake coordinator, they know what they are supposed to say to clients every time and don’t have to worry about missing a part of the scripted intake. Unfortunately, many solos hold information in their heads. When it’s time to hire an employee or contractor, they have to explain how to do various tasks due to undocumented steps.

I started as a true solo and spent time on the foundational aspects of my business. Namely, I wrote down my mission, vision, and values and identified my ideal clients. I failed to write out or film videos of my processes, which would have been very helpful for my first administrative assistant. I have spent numerous hours and a pretty sum of money retroactively correcting my mistakes. Take it from me: set your foundation before you start the hiring process to scale your firm.

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What are your thoughts on hiring an employee who aligns with your firm? Please email me at iffywrites@ibekwelaw.com to share any comments or thoughts.


Iffy Ibekwe is the principal attorney and founder of Ibekwe Law, PLLC. She is an estate planning attorney evangelist for intergenerational wealth transfer with effective wills and trusts. Iffy is writing her first book on culturally competent estate planning, available in 2022 (prayers up!). She graduated from The University of Texas School of Law and has practiced law for over 14 years. Iffy can be reached by email at iffywrites@ibekwelaw.com, on her website, and on Instagram @thejustincaselawyer.

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