One common complaint I hear from family law partners is, “The associates in my firm just think about their world. They don’t care about what’s going on globally within the practice.”
This is totally true.
Most family law associates simply want to practice their craft. They don’t care about ownership, nor do they want the responsibility.
I’ve had to come to grips with this reality and stop trying to get our associates to think like owners.
The best we can do as family law partners is create an environment that nurtures practice-minded attorneys—when they are ready.
Here are our best practices for developing associates into attorneys who think like an owner:
- Be Transparent About Firm Finances
I’ve found that when we’re transparent and let associates in on the business of our law firm by sharing numbers, it creates an environment where people ask questions, and some want to know more.
The more we can educate attorneys through sharing information and being transparent, the more opportunities we have to develop them as leaders and future partners.
I’ve seen firms operate under a veil of secrecy regarding financial information as if they have the secret Coca-Cola formula or the Colonel’s secret recipe.
This approach doesn’t help develop business-minded attorneys.
At the very least, associates need to know every single important metric about their performance. This includes how much revenue they generate, their collection rates, and their closing percentage.
- Connect Individual Work to Firm Success
Opening the books and helping associates see how their contribution impacts the firm’s financial success is vital.
Help them connect the dots between their collections, their client service, and the business outcomes for the firm.
This helps them understand that there’s a downstream financial effect on what they do daily.
Many associates don’t ask questions about the business because they’re embarrassed.
When we were around $3 million in revenue, I was sharing our numbers and an attorney said, “Wow, I didn’t know you made $3 million.” At first, I thought she was kidding, but she wasn’t.
I took that opportunity to explain that we have expenses—including her salary—that significantly decrease the profit.
It never ceases to amaze me how much opportunity there is to educate on these fundamental business concepts.
- Provide Business Education
Business education doesn’t have to be formal classes.
I tried that once, and it was a failure—no one wanted to attend a class on balance sheets or business principles.
Instead, incorporate business education into your regular routine meetings, yearly meetings, or quarterly meetings.
Taking time to educate everyone on the business of the law firm helps raise awareness with your associates.
- Give Full Client Immersion
Another effective approach is to empower your associates by giving them full client immersion as quickly as possible.
Help them understand every stage of the client’s journey from the initial phone call to the intake, consultation, becoming a client, serving them, and exiting the firm.
This comprehensive view instills in them a sense of how the firm works, which gives them a business sense of what’s happening within the firm.
Making them the owners of the client relationship and encouraging direct communication helps them learn how their practice impacts both their business and the entire firm.
- Offer Mentorship
Any time you can provide mentorship for those who want to learn more, take that opportunity.
If an associate shows interest in the business side of the firm, spend time with them. This is a golden opportunity.
Conversely, if an associate does not show an interest in the business of the firm, don’t try to compel their interest. Just let them practice.
- Reward Ownership Behavior
Finally, reward ownership behavior by aligning compensation with individual and firm success.
Getting the individual success of that attorney to match up with the firm’s success creates powerful incentives.
There’s nothing like having your salary and compensation dependent on the firm’s success to spark curiosity about how the firm operates.
Most firms pay by percentage of collections, and ours is no different. But we take it a step further by showing associates:
- How their collections contribute to their compensation
- How much of their collections goes toward paying the government (taxes)
- How much we spend to attract a client
- What each opportunity and consultation is worth
- How all of this impacts what we can pay them
By creating a nurturing environment, being transparent, providing education, and aligning incentives, you can raise up associates who think beyond just practicing law.
