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Pamela DeNeuve

Lawyer & Law Firm Peak Performance Strategist

Smart Lawyers in 2016: Use 4 Easy Tools to Increase Success

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Lawyers are smart. Lawyers are among the smartest professionals on the planet. But is being smart enough?

Before 2016 begins, let’s focus on what you want to change to make this year your best year. In a blog post, Why do law firms fail? “Dean Frank Wu of UC Hastings Law thinks that it’s because ‘[s]mart people overestimate the importance of being a smart person’— that is, your firm can still flop even if its lawyers are the best lawyers in the world.”

Meet Cecil

My client Cecil said to me, “Pamela, I don’t want to repeat the same mistakes I made the past two years. I know I am a darned good lawyer. But somehow I keep missing my mark. It’s not because I don’t work hard. I put in the hours, but I don’t get the results I am after.”

I applaud lawyers like Cecil, who took the time to have one conversation that entirely changed his law practice. One of the biggest difficulties with being a smart lawyer is that you may not be teachable, especially in areas that are important. If you ‘think’ you already have the answer, you might miss something that is compromising your law practice. Why is this important? Because, no one knows everything. There are always things to learn.

Smart Attorneys Have Blind Spots

There is a second and most important reason that being a smart lawyer is not enough. The second reason is that everyone has a blind spot. A blind spot is an area where you keep making the same mistake over and over again. Blind spots defy intelligence, knowledge or understanding. Despite superlative intelligence, blind spots crop up when you least expect it. Blind spots show up when you don’t have the wherewithal to deal with that same issue again.

Because blind spots are invisible to you, an individual cannot see or understand why these irritations or frustrations keep cropping up, but without an objective observer, you will more-than-likely continue these mistakes and frustrations again and again.

What do blind spots have to do with having a successful law practice? EVERYTHING! Because the legal profession demands EVERYTHING, a lawyer needs to be mindful of every area of their law practice and their home life. A car cannot go 90 mph on a flat without damaging the entire car. The same goes for lawyers. You cannot maintain a demanding career with a blind spot slapping you around at the worst possible time.

Being a smart and informed lawyer is great, but now it is important to dig deeper to avoid any mistakes that impaired your practice last year.

To change and grow your practice in 2016, you want to use these four R’s to expose any blind spots that could cause a flat tire in your law practice, therefore, sabotaging your best results. These 4 tools will put you on the right path to modify and improve your law practice.

The Four – R’s to Increase Your Success in 2016

REVIEW:

Look at your overall law practice last year with a critical eye. Inspect each detail. An honest review is imperative. You want to consider all aspects of last year. Make three columns on a sheet of paper and list on the left, what worked well. Where did you excel? (Turn your paper horizontally even if you are using your computer)

In the middle column list what did not work. Make an honest assessment. (Leave the 3rd column blank) If you lost a case, if you fell behind, if you did not meet your goals. Disagreements or circumstances that caused friction in the office or at home. Write everything down. The more thorough you become, the better chances you have to improve your practice in 2016. Put this list aside for a day or two.

REEVALUATE:   Pick up your list again, in a few days and review 2016 again. Now is the time to reconsider and reassess your lists. In the third column, write down next to each item (you wrote in the middle column that did not work) what you could have done differently or what you might have changed. This assessment is an important part of reevaluating your year. Don’t limit yourself when writing. Since these observations are an exercise, test your limits as far as you can. Look at this list with the intention of discovering what you want to improve. You can always scale back later.

REVAMP:  Now is the time to overhaul, on paper what you want to change in your a) attitude, b) actions, c) schedule, d) habits e) disciplines, f) relationships (at home and work). Make a list of the top ten modifications and new ideas you would like to make in 2016 based on what you have written that did not work last year and also derived on what you would have changed.

Revitalize:  Now the journey begins for 2016. You can make this year your best, ever. It just takes beginning again. Leave last year’s mistakes behind. Give your law practice a new lease on life. Take your list of ten action items that you are committed to change and incorporate these details into your practice.

The only way to improve your results for 2016 is to make changes. Here is where many attorneys fail. They refuse to either get support by finding another attorney or they do not hire a coach. You want to have a clear plan to incorporate these changes, which is above and beyond the business plan you give to the firm. If you have a solo practice, support is imperative to change and grow your firm.

Why Most Law Practices Fail to Meet Goals

Aside from law, it is hard for any new business to succeed – statistics shows that some 90 percent of new businesses fail within the first two years. But it doesn’t help when business owners make the same glaring mistakes. Just because you are smart, and, a great lawyer doesn’t mean you know all of the ropes to have a successful business.

New law firm owners, in particular, are prone to making the same mistakes, that seriously limit any chance of success. I find that some law firm owners will try something new, and then they fail. Once their new tactic fails, they completely stop and begin an entirely new strategy.

Many times just making some minor changes to the original plan can yield the desired result.

Besides practicing law, the business must make course corrections and spend the time to develop the right strategies. Making time for this important activity can save a law firm practice that had no hope and completely turn it around.   I find it remarkable when attorneys make changes in their personal lives, they become more successful in their law practice.

Be Smart Yet Remain Teachable 

Don’t overestimate the importance of being a smart person. To be the best lawyer is not enough and doesn’t guarantee your success.

You must develop into great businesspeople, too. Or at least, affiliate with great businesspeople, which means recognizing that the technical skills and emotional intelligence needed to be a great lawyer and correlate with the other skills needed to thrive. Smart lawyers surround themselves with the needed support to gain the success they work so hard to achieve.

Whether you are a superlative lawyer, an excellent lawyer or consider yourself a good lawyer, taking the time to take your law practice through the four R’s will yield you a much more successful law practice in 2016.

Attorney Balance Your Life Coach

★Pamela Helps Attorneys Increase Your Success in 2016★

Use Four Easy Tools and Defeat:

★Burnout ★Stress ★ Anxiety ★  Depression ★ Addictions★ 

(20 Years Experience)

2016 Kick Start (Using Evaluation four R Evaluation Tools)

– click below to schedule

Click Here to Schedule

 Email: pamela@boldandbravelegalladies.com with questions

Links

Why Law Firms Fail  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/frank-h-wu/why-law-firms-fail_b_6827410.html

Law Firm Failures  http://abovethelaw.com/tag/law-firm-failures/

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