Lawyers at smaller firms, on average, spend about 60% of their time doing client work. according to a Thomson Reuters’ 2020 survey. That means that attorneys at those firms are spending almost half their time on something other than their core business. Almost half their time on work that doesn’t generate revenue – and that’s not good business.
Here’s a tip for my small and mid-size firms out there – if you are wanting to have senior-level staff positions such as Director of Marketing, Director of Diversity, Director of Administration, COO, CFO, Director of Recruiting, etc. as part of your official headcount but budget is an issue – an idea is to create these positions as part-time roles, have an outsourced person like me, or promote a lawyer or alumnus who has great institutional knowledge of the ins and outs of the firm.
It just takes a little creativity.
Some law firms are outsourcing administrative, finance and accounting, human resources, facilities, marketing, document processing and records management roles as the legal industry has started to outsource more “high-value functions.”
I work as outsourced Chief Marketing Officer/Director of Marketing for a number of law firms. They get the full benefit of me without having to pay my full salary. It’s a win-win for all of us. A number of other firms are doing the same when it comes to diversity and recruiting roles.
There are other ways to do it. A firm I work with just brought back a former associate as their Director of Diversity and Inclusion. She will also work on selected matters as an associate too.
As Law.com reported last year, “Big Law is embracing outsourcing. Not only are more firms doing it, but the industry is outsourcing a growing number of high-value departments, often shedding administrative and operations employees in the process. The decisions carry some risk, but also big rewards.”
What would your law firm do with the help of a fractional CMO or another C-suite executive? Lawyers would focus on their clients and client work more. Firm management would be able to focus more on strategically growing the firm. Your CMO would focus on what they do best while you focus on what you do best.
Wouldn’t you rather focus on what matters most?
I’m happy to brainstorm on how I’ve helped firms of all sizes do this. Outsourcing can save law firms millions of dollars in the long run. There are a cadre of people like me in various specialties who can help law firms with their various needs.