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Transform Your Practice One Who at a Time: The Accountability Chart

In the LWP system, progressing through the three levels of success depends upon your having the right people, the right “Whos”, in the correct positions within your organization. We call the graphic representation of “who does what” in a law firm an Accountability Chart rather than an organizational chart. This is because success depends on holding each “Who” in the firm, including the owner, accountable for accomplishing the tasks associated with each position.

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Download the LWP Law Firm Accountability Chart here

Take a look at the Accountability Chart above. You’ll notice that the top box, occupied by the owner, has a question mark next to the word Entrepreneur. Why? The owner of a law firm is not necessarily an entrepreneur. He or she might be, but is not always. The skills, knowledge, and experience necessary to be an outstanding attorney are not the same as those required to be a successful entrepreneur. As the saying goes, law school doesn’t teach you how to be an entrepreneur or run a law firm, it teaches you the law.

Ask yourself: Are you an entrepreneur? Do you have a vision for the future of your firm and the commitment, together with the skills, necessary to make your vision a reality? If not, your firm’s success depends on your developing the vision and skills you need or finding someone—the right “Who”—to fulfill the entrepreneurial role.

Now consider the operations box on the Accountability Chart. In many law firms, the owner/attorney takes on the important duties of Operations Manager. At LWP, we encourage owners to avoid operations and instead bring someone on board who has the skills necessary to manage the firm. One of the key skills required of the Operations Manager is the ability to hold everyone in the firm accountable for doing their jobs in an accurate, effective, and timely manner.

It is important to note that by utilizing the tools and exercises we have shown you, many LWP members have discovered that the ideal Director of Operations is already employed by the firm in another capacity. The same can be said for other roles within the firm, including that of entrepreneur. The “Whos” you need to fill certain roles may already be sitting at your conference room table; they are just not in the right “seats.”

Next time we’ll discuss the four boxes in line three of the Law Firm Accountability Chart: Marketing, Client Services, Legal Services, and Finance/Human Resources.

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Transform Your Practice One Who at a Time: The LWP Law Firm Success Model

At LWP, we believe that a firm’s success can be broken down into three levels. The Law Firm Success Model illustrates this principle and is a proven blueprint for tracking your progress from one level of success to the next. 

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Download the LWP Law Firm Success Model here

As you can see, in the Success Model level one is defined as technical success—and rightly so. At the very least, your firm must be able to use the law competently to address your clients’ needs and craft legal documents that produce the desired results for your clients.

Where are you with respect to competency and level one? Perhaps you are transitioning from one area of the law, such as family law, into elder law. In that case, you might not be proficient at designing, say, an asset protection trust. This would put you to the left of level one, letter A on the Success Model above. To fully achieve level one success, you must master the strategies and tools of estate planning, elder law, Medicaid planning, and asset protection.

LWP has helped many new members attain technical success through a combination of cutting-edge software, hands-on training, legal/technical support, and one-on-one coaching. Our three-day, intensive Practice With Purpose (PWP) workshops are the best possible way to start. You can learn more about them, or register for an upcoming PWP workshop, here.

Now let’s move on to level two, operational success, which is defined as consistent profitability and growth. Study the bulleted questions in level two. If your answer to most of these questions is no, you are to the left of operational success, the letter B in the Success Model—you’re not quite there yet. Conversely, if your answers to most of the questions are yes, you are well on your way to operational success and consistently achieving your revenue, profitability, and growth goals.

If you have achieved operational success, you are ready to move to the next level in the Success Model, entrepreneurial success. In essence, entrepreneurial success means that your firm can operate successfully and profitability without your day-to-day involvement. For example, if your firm has achieved level three success, you can go on vacation for a few weeks and your firm will not be in a state of utter chaos upon your return. Entrepreneurial success means you have the team—the “Whos”—in place to keep your firm running at peak efficiency whether you are in the office or not.

Look at the Success Model one more time. Whether you are in position A, B, or C, we can help you get to the next level. You will benefit from our next email, which will discuss our proprietary Law Firm Accountability Chart—the cornerstone of building a team that is comprised of the “Whos” you need to move forward.

If you are in position D, congratulations, you are not only an accomplished attorney, you are also a successful entrepreneur. Don’t bother reading our next email. We won’t mind. We celebrate success, and you should, too!

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Automated Workflow Management: The Top 4 Reasons Why You NEED Automated Workflows in YOUR Firm!

Utilizing an automated workflow management system makes it much easier to have greater insight into your business by easily generating reports instead of having to dig through files or spend time locating the information you need.With automated workflow management, you and your team are held accountable by auto-generated tasks set specifically for certain roles. Your ability to communicate both internally and externally is more effective because everyone is aware of the specific step a client is on within the process and how to keep clients moving efficiently through your process, overall. 

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Transform Your Practice One “Who” at a Time

“How do I get my practice to the next level?” This is the first question the vast majority of our prospects ask. Unfortunately, it is the wrong question. Becoming an efficient, proficient, and consistently profitable firm isn’t about how, it’s about who. The question you must ask is, “Who do I need to take my firm to the next level?”

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Transforming Your Practice One “Who” at a Time

During the “Why Day” session at the Taper New Orleans retreat held this past March, Lawyers with Purpose Founder Dave Zumpano presented his take on law firm roles and the power of having the right person in the right seat. Zumpano offered that “Who?” (not “How?”) is the greater question to answer when planning to grow a law firm.

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Congratulations to William Newstad, Lawyers With Purpose Member of The Month!

What is the greatest success you’ve had since joining LWP?  

Since joining LWP my greatest success has been being able to use the skills and tools obtained from LWP training to foster referrals from a number of other attorneys of estate planning and elder law clients.  I find these referrals as my most valued as it indicates the level of trust and experience that attorneys in my community have for my firm.  

Newstad PhotoWhat is your favorite LWP tool?

My favorite LWP tool is the whole focuser concept. From meeting to daily, they keep me on track and on top of what I need to accomplish and what I have accomplished!

How has being part of LWP impacted your team and your practice?  

I'm a solo with a small team.  Having LWP, as well as Actionstep, in our corner provides the support and resources that one would find only in a large firm. Having the LWP community as a sounding board for various questions on the ListServ as well as the weekly webinars affirms the cordial and knowledgeable community of which my firm is proud to be part of.

Share something about yourself that most people don’t know about you.  

I have been singing since I was 9 years old.  I've been a cantor in my church as well as the lead singer of local rock cover band. Recently I was in a local remake of the Broadway musical Big Fish and in December I will be reprising my role as Santa Claus in Staten Island's version of the Radio City Christmas Show. So…HO HO HO!!

What is your favorite book and how did it impact your life?

I am an avid reader of Science Fiction and Fantasy novels as I am a HUGE geek. In fact, I will be attending the New York City Comicon with my family this month, and yes we will be cosplaying as characters from Star Wars!  As far as a favorite book? It would be Joseph Campbell's, Hero with a Thousand Faces, which I first read in college. It tracks the mythology of the hero through many different cultures and was actually used by George Lucas to write the original Star Wars screenplay.  I like to think that we, as attorneys, and our teams are heroes as we help so many families plan for their future and protect their stuff for future generations. 

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Do Your Shareholders Know?

When I was growing up, my parents never talked about money. The bills would come in and be stacked up on the arm of the couch until my mother paid them on Sunday nights, after the kids were in bed. There were only three things I knew about my parents’ finances: 1) They saved all year for us to take a three-week vacation in the car to visit family in Virginia and Illinois; 2) We were middle-class; and 3) After my dad had his first heart attack when I was in the eighth grade, the common expression became, “Do you think money grows on trees?” Of course I didn’t, but I also didn’t know why I couldn’t have a coke after basketball practice anymore.

Now that I am a business owner and the financial support for my family, I understand the dramatic fluctuation of cash flow. And, unlike my parents, my 6-year-old children are getting a handle on it too. They are, after all, the shareholders of my business.


Bigstock-Shareholder-Meeting-day-and-da-102582344My daughter and I have a daily ritual. Each morning she bids me farewell to “make some money.” Each evening she asks me, “Mommy, how was your day?” and “Did you make any money?” One day I responded with, “Yes, we made $5,350 today.” She inquired, “Is that a lot of money?” I replied, “Yes, to some people that is a lot; however, Mommy didn’t make her goal today.” Sometimes when she asks, I tell her that we didn’t make any money that day because it was a business development day, when I meet other professionals instead of clients.

I am comfortable having these conversations with my 6-year-olds because I am working for my family and they deserve to know the status of the business, just like any other shareholder of a business or stocks or financial investments. Furthermore, it helps my family understand why I am “going to work” instead of staying home with them. Lastly, they are learning real business skills, which may serve them and me well in the future (especially if they want to take over my business).

Who are your shareholders? A spouse? Children? Grandchildren? Yourself as you plan for retirement? Whomever it is, be honest and open with them about the state of affairs of the business and finances. This will keep you motivated to set, review and reach your goals.  

Victoria L. Collier, Co-Founder, Lawyers with Purpose, LLC, www.LawyersWithPurpose.com; Certified Elder Law Attorney through the National Elder Law Foundation; Fellow of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys; Founder and Managing Attorney of The Elder & Disability Law Firm of Victoria L. Collier, PC, www.ElderLawGeorgia.com; Co-Founder of Veterans Advocates Group of America; Entrepreneur; Author; and nationally renowned Presenter.

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Congratulations to John Holden, Lawyers With Purpose Member of The Month

What is the greatest success you’ve had since joining LWP?

I have had the honor of assisting a Vietnam Veteran and his family in the design and implementation of an asset protection plan that protected and preserved approximately 420 acres of land, 60 head of cattle, oil and gas production as well as a headright. It was gratifying to devise a plan that met the client’s wishes and also enabled the veteran to qualify for VA Pension Benefits. I would not have had the confidence or the skill to competently assist this family without the training and software provided by LWP.


John Holden PictureWhat is your favorite tool?

So far, the LWPCCS templates. In addition, I have implemented the Risk Analysis Interview and have been able to use the Risk Analysis Letter and Funding Map to provide clients with a visualization of how to accomplish their stated goals of protecting most of their assets while positioning themselves for qualification for long term care assistance by means of either VA Pension Benefits or Medicaid. Further, the training videos for the various marketing workshops are helpful in the development of my marketing efforts.

How has being part of LWP impacted your team and your practice?

Evidently, I must be the “other one per cent”, since I have no team. However, the support I have received with respect to legal technical and marketing issues has been extraordinary. I am also grateful for the encouragement I have received to get out of my comfort zone and to actively engage in marketing to my surrounding communities.

Share something about yourself that most people don’t know about you?

I am blessed with two (2) great kids. My daughter, Marlowe, is an actor in New York. My son, Taylor, is an audio performance engineer and works for Clair Global.

What is your favorite book and how did it impact your life?

A friend gave me a copy of “Purpose Driven Life” by Rick Warren at a particularly difficult point in my life. The book provided me with clarity and a path forward when I really needed it.