Say Goodbye to Your Boss, Say Hello to the Law Firm You’ve Always Dreamed of

Readers of this blog know I am prone to write a book report from time to time, but only about books that I think will benefit South Carolina real estate practitioners. I’ve blogged previously (twice!) about John Fisher’s The Power of a System; How to Build the Injury Law Practice of Your Dreams. John Fisher has a new book that I also recommend for dirt lawyers.

By the way, John was a speaker at our Chicago Title annual seminar on October 14, and he did not disappoint. If you missed him, I highly recommend that you begin following what he writes and that you seek out the opportunity to hear him speak.

His 2019 book is entitled The Law Firm of Your Dreams; Say Goodbye to Your Boss, Say Hello to the Law Firm You’ve Always Dreamed of.

In the formative days of his medical malpractice firm, Fisher wished for a step-by-step manual for running a profitable practice because, like the rest of us, he was not taught strategic planning, goal setting, business metrics, managing employees, managing clients, and marketing in law school. He later developed that manual for his firm, not just technical systems for running a business, but also the managerial and entrepreneurial principles to keep a constant stream of new cases and clients coming through the pipeline.

Those systems were covered in his first book, and numerous lawyers have said the book provides a roadmap for accurate and precise business development for any lawyer in any practice anywhere!

The 2019 book starts with the premise that the lawyer’s mindset is the most important aspect of creating the ideal law firm. Without the right mindset, the author says, the best policies and systems won’t do you much good. He recommends becoming a “specialist” even though that word is a “no no” under our ethical rules. John believes that if you don’t specialize in something, you will be marginal in everything.

I have a lawyer friend who has learned to specialize. He practices in the area of residential real estate closings in a coastal area. He is a sole practitioner, and he very narrowly defines the scope of his work. He seeks to make buyers, sellers, real estate agents, and lenders happy in connection with their closings. For that reason, he will not write what I call “nasty lawyer letters”. He refers that work to a friend. He will also not do any kind of work that will slow down the very well-oiled machine that keeps him churning out his closings in a timely and accurate fashion.

He may set up a simple LLC for a closing, but he refers out complicated entity formation, complicated trust formation and anything to do with estate planning. He may draft a simple set of restrictive covenants, but he refers out complicated subdivision development and commercial real estate closings of any type. His clients, lenders and real estate agents are happy and return again and again. Fellow lawyers love that he refers complicated work to them, and they refer residential closings to him in return. Win. Win. Win. John Fisher would approve of his system.

John Fisher recommends that a lawyer should delegate almost everything, both professionally and personally. He says, “your career (and life) will be chaos if you answer every phone call or email during your work day. You will never go home in time for dinner or attend your kids’ ball games if you insist on being everything for your clients. That’s why you have to delegate everything you can and do only those things you cannot delegate.”

And the best thing you can do for your career, according to this author, is to devote as much time and energy as you can to marketing and growing your law practice. A large part of both books is devoted to marketing.

I am a huge fan of the ideas and step-by-step instructions of this thoughtful lawyer and author. I invite you to read his books and follow his advice to improve your practice and your life!