Table for One

As attorneys, it is easy to feel we have the weight of the firm on our shoulders. We have the legal expertise and we know how to guide our clients. It can feel quite isolating. That is our own fault.

The phrase “I’m my own worst enemy” is highly applicable to attorneys. We get in our own way because we think, “I’m the lawyer, so I’m the one who has to handle everything”. We adopt a smartest one in the room mentality. It is not intentional, but it happens. Why go through the practice of hiring other people to work for you if you are not going to lean on them? Why not hire people to work in your firm who are not attorneys and paralegals? Instead of isolating and overworking yourself, build a team.

If you want to take care of families at death or incapacitation and you want to implement a successful ongoing client care program then you are going to need a team which includes at least one non-attorney. You might already have people working for you, but do they feel part of the team or are they “staff”? Do they feel integral to the workings of your firm? If not, make it so. Stop taking all the responsibility for your firm on your shoulders and spread it around. Coach your team members in how to do some of your work. Have team members be primary contacts for clients and give them ownership of cases. No leader has ever risen to greatness without people helping them achieve it.

If you want a successful firm and you want to make establishing an ongoing client care program less daunting, then invite your employees (team) to the table and work together. You, together with your team, can take care of families and elevate your firm.

To learn more about how you and your team can successfully and sustainably implement an ongoing client care program, contact our Program Coordinator, Megan Davitt, today to sign up for our fall Foundations Workshop.

We look forward to working with you and your team as you begin the journey to an extraordinary client care program.