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IS YOUR LAW PRACTICE OPTIMIZED?

So, today’s post is, “Is your Law Practice Optimized?” This post will guide you through a critical thought process to evaluate and optimize your readiness in addressing your Law Firm’s present and future business challenges and opportunities, using a high-level (CEO/Managing Partner level – Practice Management Planning Solution), that we simply refer to as a Practice Optimization Solution. To assess if your firm is strategically optimized, consider the following questions:

1: Do you currently have in place, a high-level (CEO/Managing Partner level), Practice Optimization Solution in place that helps you strategically plan and tactically manage and optimize ALL key aspects of your business?

2: Does your high-level Practice Optimization Solution help you “strategically” plan, document, and manage all your firm’s strategic objectives? Does it help you “tactically” prioritize and implement your objectives, while actively manage accountability with others? Does your current solution help you actively manage your organizational growth objectives, while monitoring your progress and effectiveness in ALL key aspects of your business? We know it’s a mouthful…but if you don’t have a Practice Optimization Solution like this in place, why not?

3: If you do have such a plan in place, is your high-level Practice Optimization Solution platform “independent” from your firm’s operational software platforms? If not…why not?

If you don’t have an independent high-level Practice Optimization Solution in place, the utility value and high R.O.I. is worth consideration. The benefits of having such a powerful solution in place cannot be overstated, especially one that remains independent from your daily operational software platforms. Why is this important? Consider these three points:

KEY CONSIDERATIONS:

  • FIRST CONSIDERATION – A high-level Practice Optimization Solution ought to function independently from the daily operational software platforms currently utilized within your business. We hold the conviction that utilizing such a powerful management planning solution independently from other software platforms is crucial for strategic planning, tactical implementation, active management, and performance monitoring across the entire organization. Why? Because most law firm (and general businesses for that matter) software solutions are “Operational Components” to the business. While Operational Component software is extremely important to the daily operations of the practice, they DO NOT serve as a “Centralized Strategic Practice Management Command and Control Center” for ALL strategic & tactical planning and management of the business. The next point explains why…
  • SECOND CONSIDERATION – If you did have such a high-level Practice Optimization Solution in place that was not independent of your operational component platforms, component replacement would not be possible, and this could negatively impact your business operationally and financially. What has become commonplace over the past two decades is the attractiveness of having “turn-key” solutions. We recognize there are scenarios and operational advantages where turn-key solutions can be very beneficial in daily operations (such as Matter Management systems integrated with Time and Billing systems integrated with Payment Collection services, etc.). “Turn-key” solutions often present significant operational and utility value for a law firm, making sound business sense until they fail to meet performance expectations. Turn-key solutions might present more challenges and potential risks if your needs or expectations change (which is often the case) or if operational components of the software fail to meet your needs or expectations. This could lead to the perilous inability of substituting non-performing operational software components for best-in-class components. The inability to substitute nonperforming or underperforming operational components can also become extremely expensive and disruptive to staff performance and client deliverables. This could ultimately have a negative and measurable impact on your financial results.
  • THIRD CONSIDERATION – While the operational software component integrations are valuable for the daily business operations of your law practice, they are not substitutes for high-level strategic and tactical management planning solutions. If your high-level Practice Optimization Solution resides within your “turn-key” operational software platform, replacing underperforming components within the platform, will not be feasible, and as previously mentioned, this could ultimately have a significant negative impact on your practice productivity and financial results. For these reasons, we believe keeping the high-level Practice Optimization Solution independent from your operational software platforms will keep your strategic planning in an optimized position.

ADDITIONAL CONSIDERATIONS:

  • The high-level Practice Optimization Solution under discussion, should encompass not just the administrative and operational facets of your Law Firm, but in all areas of your business including: Human Resources, Technology, Data Security, Artificial Intelligence, Business Growth, Sales & Marketing, Business Interruption, and Business Succession Planning to name a few. Should your existing high-level Practice Optimization Solution fail to cover all these aspects (or other areas), and should you desire to have an independent Practice Optimization Solution as outlined above, your search ends here…

THE SOLUTION:

GMS Business Consulting, Inc. has developed a high-level Practice Optimization Solution called TAP. It’s a powerful Tactical Action Plan that may be exactly what you need to strategically optimize your Law Firm or practice. When you have a high-level Practice Optimization Solution in place like TAP, you’ll position your Law Firm to gain a high Return on Investment, and you’ll experience Peace of Mind. To learn more about TAP…OR… to schedule a Free/ No-Hassle/ No-Sales Pitch TAP Demo, simply click one of the buttons below:

Learn More about TAP
Schedule Your TAP Demo

We hope this post has been informative and helps you in selecting and implementing a high-level Practice Management Planning Solution like TAP, to ensure that your law Firm is strategically optimized. When your Law Firm is strategically optimized, you’ll position your Firm for a high Return On Investment, and you’ll gain peace of mind…

GMS BUSINESS CONSULTING, INC. – Provides lawyers/law firms, for-profit & non-profit organizations, and business professionals with Value-Accounting Services, Business Management & Development Services (utilizing our TAP Solution), Business Optimization Services, and Digital Marketing Services. We help business professionals strategically manage and tactically grow their businesses with a high return on investment and peace of mind.  (We do NOT provide investment advice.)  Contact Us If you would like to learn more about our services, especially TAP, our high-level Tactical Action Plan Solution, designed to help you strategically and tactically optimize your business.  We would welcome the opportunity to speak with you.

info@gmsbusinessconsulting.com

707-218-3135

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Business During the CV Pandemic

Conducting business during the CV pandemic (COVID-19) will not be business as usual (obviously), but it is not only possible it’s doable! However given the right planning, preparation utilizing technology, and with measured and thoughtful precautions in place, business can proceed forward (and it must!). Most of what we’re presenting below is very basic, yet sometimes we need to revisit some of those basic principles before strategically planning ahead. Many, many business we initially interacted with were not as “up to date” on virtual working conditions nor did they have the appropriate plans in place to work through business interruptions like this current situation. Please understand, we’re not holding ourselves as experts in the coronavirus, however we do have experience and expertise in business operations, planning and optimization. Conducting business during the CV pandemic is possible! Let’s take a brief look at a few basic business interruption recommendations and precautions that might be helpful to you or someone else you may know who needs some guidance:

BUSINESS OPERATIONS:

  1. Business Interruption Plan – The first point of defense and offence is having a Business Interruption Plan (BIP). If you haven’t established and implemented a BIP by now…do so now (we can help you with this). This plan will not only be helpful now, but it will serve you well with ANY business interruption that may come along in the future including: natural disasters/ physical office location interruptions etc. (We include a Business Interruption Plan in our M.A.P. solution). BIP become the command and control center for managing and operating your business during a business interruption. If you don’t have a BIP in place, hopefully the following recommendations will provide some initial guidance and food for thought.
  2. Work Remotely – Minimize the staff necessary to be on your site location. For most service providers, online access to office/client work-product should have already been established through online/cloud access to all apps/data/communication. If that has been implemented, then those not required to be “on-site” should work remotely. For those who must remain on-site (for production purposes and tech. support), make sure to implement protective measures to keep others as safe as possible from infection.
  3. Daily Debriefs – Morning and evening business debriefs hosted by management should focus on essential business operations such as: client service & communication/ supply-chain/service providers/ contracted services status etc. Also, make sure the business leader (President/CEO/Managing Partner etc.) personally hosts a daily debrief with all staff. Staff needs to see/hear status and direction from the person in charge. This can be easily accomplished via ZOOM or other online meeting software etc.
  4. Client Communication – All staff involved in client interaction and work-product responsibilities should coordinate, prioritize and communicate with each designated client. The objective should be to keep clients informed on the status of work production that directly affects them. Clients NEED to hear from their service providers (just as we would like to hear from our contracted service providers) in situations like this. However this should be conducted on a more regular basis than is normally customary! Just a simple text/ email/ video-call/ direct phone call letting clients know you’re thinking of them, and providing them with updates regarding their work-product is very meaningful to them. DO NOT underestimate this! Over the years this has been the #1 complaint of clients with their prior service providers. This simple task can be easily accomplished via the technology tools we have at our fingertips today.
  5. Supply Chain & Service Provider Communication – Management should already have business interruption measures in place (via the Business Interruption Plan), but in case they don’t, calls must take place so that your organization’s staff can be prepared to work with any disruptions that may impact their client’s work product. Once the status and expectations with suppliers/service providers is understood, then any material information that could affect client work-product, should be communicated to the responsible staff and then directly to clients.
  6. Strategic Planning – Use business interruption situations to better understand and address your organizational weaknesses. Then you can effectively begin to strategically plan your next objectives. Host online meetings with management AND staff to brainstorm and strategize how to best resolve current business challenges internally, and how you can help clients do the same. This is a golden opportunity to add value to existing clients and new clients. Become a valued resource to help clients resolve their problems during a business interruption. Not that you need to have all the answers, but that you become a valued “resource” to help them resolve their challenges. You can do this either by providing the solution or by introducing them to other sources that can help resolve their specific challenges or opportunities. Provide value to your clients by becoming a thought leader…a problem solver other than the work you normally provide. Again, conducting business during the CV pandemic is not only possible it is doable!

PRECAUTIONS:

  1. Pre-Screening – Those employees only deemed “necessary” to work on-site during this particular crisis, should be monitored daily for any possible infection as best as possible. If any of the aforementioned on-site staff are not feeling well or have been exposed to others who are ill, they should be required to work remotely…no exceptions.
  2. Office Location Precautions – Implement the basics…mandatory use of hand sanitizers (when available), mandatory frequent hand washing, mandatory use of disposable gloves etc. Again, only those employees deemed critical to business operational support should be working on-site.
  3. Employee Support & Incentives – Consider offering “Additional Paid-Sick-Time-Off” for ALL your employees. If they’re ill or get ill, then they’ll be covered by YOU…their employer! For those fortunate enough to not get ill from COVID-19, then let this “additional” paid sick-time-off be added to their vacation time. Either way, now would be the time to step-up to the plate and let your employees know you care about them and their livelihood. The additional benefit will come back to you in the form of employee retention.

We hope these basics will be of help to you or someone you know and that you can be reassured that conducting business during the CV pandemic is doable! If you would like to discuss your particular situation further please feel free to Contact Us. Be well, stay safe, and may the Lord protect us.

GMS BUSINESS CONSULTING, INC. – provides lawyers/law firms, for-profit & non-profit organizations, and business professionals with Accounting Services, Business Development Services, Business Optimization Services, and Digital Marketing Services. We help business professionals strategically manage and tactically grow their businesses more effectively and efficiently.  We do NOT provide investment advice.  Contact Us  if you are interested in learning more about our services, and in particular about M.A.P. (our 3-phase business development & management solution), designed to help you strategically manage and tactically grow your business.  We would welcome the opportunity to speak with you.

info@gmsbusinessconsulting.com

707-218-3135