law practice management « Lawyers USA Online

Creating a strategic business plan for your law firm

Published: November 17, 2011

Tags: business plan, law practice management, practice management

When he found his law firm revisiting the same questions year after year – Are we going to hire a new associate? Do we need additional office space? Which practice areas are growing? Which are shrinking? – Robert A. Young decided to embark on creating a strategic plan for his firm.

The stagnant economy turned out to be a good excuse to plan for the next three years.

Tips for better client retention

Published: October 31, 2011

Tags: client retention, law practice management

Though many lawyers work hard to expand their client base, keeping existing clients is critical to the success of a practice and can be much more efficient.

Understanding the real cost of technology

By: Ed Poll
Published: September 1, 2010

Tags: law practice management, technology

Computers will not replace lawyers; they have, in fact, made our jobs much easier. But technology expenses can be daunting. Columnist Ed Poll takes a look at how to determine which technology expenditures should be made.

Staff plays key role in tough times

By: Nancy Byerly Jones
Published: April 29, 2010

Tags: law practice management, support staff

Rough times can sneak up on us with little or no warning, or they can descend upon us after plenty of telltale signs that we choose to ignore. Either way, every staff member, regardless of title, plays a key role when it comes to successfully surviving change.

Office morale deserves priority status

By: Nancy Byerly Jones
Published: December 28, 2009

Tags: law practice management

Keeping a close watch on firm-wide morale is often overlooked by management and leadership. Yet if morale is chronically low, it dilutes investments of money and time made into other efforts to maintain a highly respected, well equipped, state-of-the-art and profitable law office.

Columnist Nancy Byerly Jones takes a look at some common “morale busters.”

Wanted: an effective want ad

By: Sylvia Hsieh
Published: December 11, 2009

Tags: law practice management

Law firm seeks effective want ad. Priority to an advertisement that conveys the firm’s personality, is written with flair and stands out on the page. Ability to attract the best candidates and weed out the mediocre a must. Start immediately.

If your firm is hiring, the want ad you publish needs more than a drab job description.

FBI warns law firms about hackers

Published: November 25, 2009

Tags: law practice management, technology

The FBI has some advice for law firms: Be careful.

The agency issued a warning last week alerting firms that what may appear to be e-mails from clients or contacts could instead be from hackers trying to infiltrate law firm databases.