Leadership skills independent lawyers need to fuel small law firms

Independent lawyers wear a variety of hats as they launch and grow their small law firms. Here are the leadership skills independent lawyers need to succeed in solo practice:

Emotional intelligence

Listing emotional intelligence as one of our five is a bit of a cheat, because this term encompasses a wide variety of attributes. However, lawyers historically have been taught to focus much more on academic intelligence over communication and people skills, so it bears mentioning.

Experts define emotional intelligence as comprising four domains and 12 competencies that break down like this:

  • Self-awareness: Emotional Self-awareness
  • Self-management: Emotional Self-control, Adaptability, Achievement Orientation and Positive Outlook
  • Social awareness: Empathy, Organizational Awareness
  • Relationship management: Influence, Coach and Mentor, Conflict Management, Teamwork, Inspirational  Leadership

As business leader Adam Toren told Forbes:

“In a world where adaptability and human-centric approaches are increasingly valued, emotional intelligence emerges as a key skill for leaders who aspire to thrive and make a meaningful impact.” 

For independent lawyers building their practices, that human-centered approach often prompts clients to choose a small law firm over a larger one. A sense of personal client service and a human touch help create a foundation of trust.

Communication and relationship-building skills

Of paramount importance to any business owner is the ability to create long-term rapport with a variety of people. From clients to fellow lawyers to potential collaborators in other fields, who you know matters. How you interact with these people matters even more.

Some key components in building strong business and client relationships include:

  • Consistent and transparent communication
  • Processes and procedures that prioritize the client experience at every step of their engagement with you
  • Give-and-take interactions with collaborators and your referral network
  • Offering to help or support others in your network
  • Listening more than you speak
  • Asking for honest feedback
  • Providing value by sharing your expertise as a speaker, article contributor and more
  • Look for ways to connect on a human level; not just around work

Communication that builds relationships takes time, but it pays off in the long run in the form of a trusted referral network and repeat clients.

Agility

The world changes at break-neck speed, and savvy business owners know how to adapt and thrive within that landscape.

For independent lawyers, that means looking for ways to innovate and streamline on a budget. It also often means moving away from traditional law firm models or even practice areas. Using your personal values and passion for law as a guide, you can shift to become a go-to provider in a new niche practice area, for example.

Agile methodology is a bit of a buzzword in the tech space, but law firms can absolutely learn from other industries in adoption agile practices. This software firm explains one of the benefits:

“One of the biggest perks of adopting agile for law firms is the increased flexibility and responsiveness. Imagine being able to quickly adapt to new client demands or unexpected changes in a case. Agile methodologies allow your team to pivot effortlessly, ensuring that you can handle whatever comes your way. This kind of adaptability is a game-changer, making your firm more resilient and capable of delivering top-notch service, no matter the circumstances.”

How can you adopt a more agile mindset or approach to your current work?

Decisiveness

In your small law firm, decision-making comes down to you. You have to make hundreds of split-second and long-term decisions to build and effective and successful small business.

It can help to develop a decision-making framework that ties back to your core values and reason for being. SmartSheet offers these steps for decision-making:

  • “Identify the Required Decision: The first and most important step is to identify the decision that needs to be made. Determine what must be done, why the decision must be made, and what impact it will have.
  • Gather Information: Next, gather information about the decision itself and the options that are available to you. What are the potential outcomes, the pros and cons, and the potential risks of each option?
  • Evaluate Your Options: Once you have established your options, determine which selection is best by establishing your priorities and comparing your choices.
  • Decide and Implement: Finally, make the decision. Once you have determined the action you will take, put a plan in place to implement and monitor its progress. Keep an eye on the results, and make new decisions as needed.”

That article also offers a number of decision-making process examples. Bottom line, your decisiveness helps you determine the direction of your small law firm rather than allowing outside forces to bounce you around as you try to grow.

To learn more about growing a small law firm as you develop a supportive collaborative network, reach out to us. We offer lawyer coworking and shared offices for lawyers in Denver and Las Vegas.