Culture isn’t optional. It’s everything.
When Jeff Kerlin took over as president of Sterling Lawyers about 18 months ago, we were doing $14.5 million in revenue. This year we’ll close closer to $18 million. The revenue growth is impressive. The cultural transformation is what really matters.
I recently sat down with Jeff to talk about how he rebuilt Sterling’s culture from the inside out.
The Unlikely Background
Jeff Kerlin spent 33 years in manufacturing before joining our law firm. His resume includes running companies ranging from $5 million to $1.5 billion in revenue. Nothing remotely related to practicing law.
Tony Karls and I met him when he was doing executive coaching on the side. We started as his coaching clients, laying on the proverbial couch and telling him all our problems. Eventually, we asked him to join the firm full-time about three and a half years ago.
His ability to connect with people and build teams stood out immediately. The core skill of leading others mattered more than knowing anything about family law.
When Tony moved to run Rocket Clicks about 18 months ago, Jeff Kerlin took over the firm entirely.
Strong Foundation, Weak Culture
Jeff’s first observation caught us off guard. The metrics were outstanding. Our client acquisition waterfall, conversion rates, and financial tracking were better than what he’d seen in manufacturing companies.
The culture needed serious attention. Attorneys felt like an afterthought in what seemed like a corporation that happened to practice family law. Jeff doubled down on being proud of family law specifically. Being the best family law firm out there.
Three Alpha Males, One Steering Wheel
Tony, Jeff Kerlin, and I were all trying to control the steering wheel simultaneously. All three of us are alpha males who wanted control.
Tony and I had to literally get out of Jeff’s way. I stopped attending weekly meetings. Tony moved to Rocket Clicks full-time.
Jeff describes the transition as trepidation mixed with excitement. That pressure drove him to act decisively.
One-on-One Meetings as Strategy
Jeff’s primary approach was relentless one-on-one meetings with key people. He got close with our top leaders, met with them constantly, and discovered who was genuinely bought into Sterling’s vision.
I watched this happen in real time. Every time I tried to schedule with Jeff, his calendar was packed with one-on-ones. He focused all his energy on our top leaders rather than spreading himself thin.
The results showed up fast. Everyone on our executive team grew significantly in leadership. Getting the right people in leadership positions is half the battle. Developing them is the other half.
Finding Leaders Already Leading
Jeff looked for people already leading without titles—the people already helping their coworkers even though nobody knows about it.
Those are the people he gave the ball to. Our current head of HR started as a paralegal years ago and wasn’t visible in leadership conversations. We took a gamble and provided outside help. She embraced it. Now she’s a strategic advantage for our firm.
Our two managing partners were amazing attorneys. They struggled to speak up and weren’t super strong leaders at the time. Under Jeff’s mentorship, they’ve grown tremendously.
Building the Muscle of Candid Communication
We have what Jeff calls a “no jerk policy” at Sterling. We also have a policy to speak what needs to be spoken. Tell the truth, do it with love.
Building that muscle takes time and trust. Some people could speak critically without being destructive. Others couldn’t separate honest feedback from personal attacks.
Jeff had hard conversations with senior leaders who said the thing in destructive ways. Eventually, some had to be removed. Others rose up to fill the gaps.
Delegation as Development
Jeff asked our leaders to read “Buy Back Your Time” by Dan Martell. If you don’t delegate, you stifle everybody’s growth, especially your own.
His philosophy is practical. Giving people things to do and being okay with 60-70% execution beats perfect execution on one thing while everything else sits undone.
We actively promote working yourself out of a job. Delegate everything away until you have nothing to do. When that happens, you get promoted because we’ll give you more responsibility.
The Non-Lawyer Leadership Model
Once you reach a certain scale, consider looking first to non-lawyers for that critical leader reporting to you.
The law of numbers tells us there are far more talented business leaders who aren’t lawyers than are lawyers.
For this to work, the lawyer owner has to genuinely let go and let the non-lawyer lead. The non-lawyer can’t make legal decisions. Leave that to managing partners. Outside of client service decisions, Jeff makes or approves 100% of business-oriented decisions at Sterling.
If you can’t let go like that, either fix it or be content with your current size. Building a sustainable law firm requires delegating beyond your comfort zone.
What Changed
Jeff’s favorite thing now is seeing two leaders getting together, working on something he has no clue about, getting stuff done without asking permission. These are often people who never talked to each other previously.
That’s culture. Not the mission statement on the wall. The daily reality of how people work together.
When leaders get it right, everybody benefits. The metrics foundation we already had plus the cultural transformation Jeff led equals sustainable, profitable growth with a team that actually wants to be here.
