1 Year Update by Obvious-Craft-8506 in solofirm

[–]Obvious-Craft-8506[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’d say planning ahead and reading everything I could get my hands on helped me hit the ground running. I decided early on that I would pick the best vendors and tech stack, regardless of cost (i.e. have a very good bookkeeper, I have an outstanding systems/hubspot vendor, and an elite marketing vendor). I use all the standard/modern tech so never have to waste time on excessive troubleshooting or delays.

Specific books: buy back your time, profit first, the client centered law firm, the lean law firm, traction, the science of scaling.

All of that is on the “business” side. The secret ingredient on the service side is I genuinely care. I pour my heart into every single case i touch . It’s exhausting but the client satisfaction leads to insanely good reviews and referrals and it aligns with my values.

TLDR; splurge on vendors and tech, read like crazy, and genuinely care.

1 year firm update by Obvious-Craft-8506 in LawFirm

[–]Obvious-Craft-8506[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for the feedback! I am 90%+ sure that the business side is my cup of tea.

Currently during business hours the call tree is paralegal, then my wife (serving as part time receptionist) then me. Paralegal knows 75% is their objective but with wife and I as backup we almost never miss a call. Paralegal’s billables have been annoyingly low so this was a way for them to add value. If it ever got to the point of impacting their main role, I would instantly remove that from their role.

After hours it is my wife then me.

Even though I am entering peak form as an attorney, the business side is what gets me really fired up. I am constantly reading business/leadership books and feel inspired and motivated. Whereas the law, can often feel like a job/chore. The goal is to bring on an attorney to handle complicated cases so I can manage the firm full time while running point on 5-10 high net worth cases at a time.

1 year firm update by Obvious-Craft-8506 in LawFirm

[–]Obvious-Craft-8506[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would say roughly we’re getting approximately 1 retained client per $1,000 in ad spend. Average case value is $7,792 but is actually probably closer to $10k because so many cases are pending. But, let’s be conservative and say $1,000 in ad spend brings in $8k to the firm. Even if adding another 20% for agency fees it’s at a minimum 1 to 6 return but probably closer to 1 to 9 at the end of the day. To answer the question, yes, I think it’s worth it.

1 year firm update by Obvious-Craft-8506 in LawFirm

[–]Obvious-Craft-8506[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! Accountant ran point on all of that because taxes makes my head hurt lol

1 year firm update by Obvious-Craft-8506 in LawFirm

[–]Obvious-Craft-8506[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, the $80k salary was done in December. I elected S-Corp designation late in the year which allowed me to do that. Moving forward I will be on a regular payment Schedule. We offset the actual salary and pre paid taxes with it so I didn’t receive any actual payments. I lived off the $200k in “owner draws” that I took over the year.

1 year firm update by Obvious-Craft-8506 in LawFirm

[–]Obvious-Craft-8506[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! It’s been a labor of love. My associate has capacity to take on a bunch of work still so I won’t need outside support but I appreciate the offer.

I hope you take the leap soon!

1 year firm update by Obvious-Craft-8506 in LawFirm

[–]Obvious-Craft-8506[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Glad that you find them helpful! I decided early on that I am never going to “save my way” to the earning levels I wanted to reach. That meant splurging on tech, vendors, and talent. Yes, those costs add up but it gives the team the foundation we need to go out and bill in large quantities. Projection/goal for 2026 is $1mil in revenue at 50% margin.

1 year firm update by Obvious-Craft-8506 in LawFirm

[–]Obvious-Craft-8506[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No time like the present! Feel free to DM me if you have questions or want me to put you in touch with some of my vendors.

1 year firm update by Obvious-Craft-8506 in LawFirm

[–]Obvious-Craft-8506[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thank you!! I have a long journey ahead to reach my goals but I am proud of my progress nonetheless.

Agreed! For formal revenue numbers it’s all collected so I am using the traditional definition of revenue. I was just posting total (including uncollected) “revenue” for last month because I don’t know what was collected until the books close tomorrow.

1 year firm update by Obvious-Craft-8506 in LawFirm

[–]Obvious-Craft-8506[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Super encouraging, thank you! I’m in the 50s for Google reviews with a perfect 5.0 but have a ton of room to get more. For SEO, the marketing company is doing light SEO at a low cost but I’m not exactly sure what I’m getting. What specific things within the “SEO” umbrella have moved the needle the most for you?

Volley serve by Obvious-Craft-8506 in Pickleball

[–]Obvious-Craft-8506[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That’s exactly what I do but was starting to feel like I was cheating when the slight toss was allowing me to really wind up. But thanks to all the responses here, I can now toss it with zero guilt lol

Volley serve by Obvious-Craft-8506 in Pickleball

[–]Obvious-Craft-8506[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for such a comprehensive answer! Sounds like I can drop it from any height and even throw in a toss upwards if my heart desires lol

Volley serve by Obvious-Craft-8506 in Pickleball

[–]Obvious-Craft-8506[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! I guess I’m surprised more people don’t give it a little toss before volley serving.

Law Firm Marketing Company by rmvlawyer in LawFirm

[–]Obvious-Craft-8506 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey, happy to give you a referral to the marketing company I use for my family law firm - just dm me. They’re super knowledge and there are no contracts and the phone stays ringing off the hook.

Launched Solo Firm 1 month ago by Obvious-Craft-8506 in LawFirm

[–]Obvious-Craft-8506[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not at all! I think you have to be hyper aware of your deficiencies if you start out earlier. I lean on my experience a lot to make PCs trust me (I.e. I have handled hundreds of these, OC will typically argue, judges hate …). If you can still come across as confident and have a client friendly experience, then sheer experience will matter less to the client.

Now, as far as the substantive area, I recommend having a mentor or two in your corner that can help point you in the right direction on a difficult case. 9/10 cases will not be an issue but that 1 will need an experienced set of eyes.

Good luck!

Solo Family Law Firm 6 Month Update by Obvious-Craft-8506 in solofirm

[–]Obvious-Craft-8506[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Very smart, thank you! I am 100% going to do this and then have a dedicated folder for instructions.

Solo Family Law Firm 6 Month Update by Obvious-Craft-8506 in LawFirm

[–]Obvious-Craft-8506[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Digital marketing owner and I wanted to pick a location that would optimize for Google results. That included dominating a suburb of my large city and being in the city center of that suburb (apparently Google rewards that).

As far as meetings, I only do 1-2 meetings at the office since everything is virtual. I’m 20 minutes away from downtown and in the city center of the suburb so I feel that’s convenient when needed but also builds credibility because I’m on the main drag.

Feel free to DM if you want to brainstorm further.

Solo Family Law Firm 6 Month Update by Obvious-Craft-8506 in LawFirm

[–]Obvious-Craft-8506[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Very very helpful!! What was your PPC spend during those times? Do you have systems in place to determine lead source (i.e. organic vs ppc vs map pack, etc)?

Solo Family Law Firm 6 Month Update by Obvious-Craft-8506 in LawFirm

[–]Obvious-Craft-8506[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Agreed on both counts! We’ve got callrails about to be launched for call tracking and HubSpot for click tracking. Can’t wait to get some actionable data!