Time is Money – Time Saving & Management Tips for Attorneys
“Time is more valuable than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time.” -Jim Rohn
Time is our most valuable asset, both personally and professionally. Unfortunately, many don’t pause to consider how they are using their time.
As a lawyer, you most likely run your practice on billable hours. If you are not utilizing your time with profits in mind, how can you possibly grow your law practice and scale your firm? What are some non-billable tasks that you can delegate? What about any non-billable tasks that are not serving your law firm?
We are going to tap into a few key non-billable tasks and discuss how time management, delegation, outsourcing, technology utilization, and process standardization will make you more efficient when it comes to optimizing your valuable time.
Time Management
To effectively manage your time, you must catalog all your tasks first. Take 1-5 days to track all the things you do to run your law practice and note any non-daily tasks you perform.
Now that you have compiled a lengthy list of all your tasks and duties, you will want to categorize and prioritize them. This will help you in ‘task batching’, automating, and/or delegating.
Look through each category and individual task, asking the following questions:
- Is this something I can automate?
- Is this something I could delegate?
- If I trash this task, will it be missed or cause issues?
- Is this only something I can do as the attorney?
Take a good look at where all those tasks ended up… What is your next proactive step in taking your time back? Is it hiring someone to take over some tasks, investing in software to automate tasks, or both?
Delegation of Administrative Tasks
This one is for those attorneys who are managing their own practice and wearing all the hats of running a business.
If you are answering phone calls and emails, calendaring appointments, planning cases, doing legal research, interviewing potential clients, and drafting legal documents, on top of performing legal services for your valued clients, you should consider calculating the time you spend on all those administrative tasks.
Let’s run through an example here to help put it all into perspective:
If your hourly rate as an attorney is $300, and you spend 15 hours a week performing administrative tasks, that is $18,000 worth of your time per month.
In the example above, that is approximately $216,000 you could be earning and reinvesting in your practice each year. With this increased income, you could hire a part-time or full-time employee to take care of the administrative tasks. You could also invest in software to help automate certain tasks, streamline processes, and organize your calendar.
Delegating your administrative tasks can give you time to do the non-billable activities that only you can do for your law firm. Traveling, entertaining clients, and networking are a few examples of non-billable activities that can bring value to your business. And adding value for your clients is worth the investment. Investing in your business doesn’t always have to mean dollars.
In our Lawyer’s MBA Webinar Series, fellow attorney RJon Robins touches on how in the early days of his practice he confused the definition of expense with the definition of expensive. He cautions you not to be reluctant to incur expenses because you see them as expensive, such as hiring capable staff or investing in new technology. Expense is the cost required; In the case of your business, the expense is required to grow. Expensive is a high cost that is not essential to the buyer.
Imagine the possibilities once you start seeing the value and benefits. How would you open your time to start earning more billable hours? And where would you apply those earnings to grow your law practice?
Technology & Automation
Investing in new technology may seem daunting and expensive. However, did you know that legal case management software can help with time tracking, scheduling, billing, and docket control?
This software can be a helpful and powerful tool for solo practitioners and multi-attorney firms. It offers a way to organize all relevant information in a central database. This includes deadlines, to-do’s, contact information, case notes, document assembly, and docket control.
Utilizing technology may seem like a large expense to your business upfront, but could save you a lot of time and money in the long run. With all the options available, you can find a legal case management software system that fits your needs and your budget.
Outsourcing for Non-Legal Expertise
Do the savings of not hiring an assistant or outsourcing certain tasks outweigh the potential income you could generate by focusing on your core strengths? Yes, we’re talking about the legal services that stack up those billable hours.
Consider outsourcing when it comes to time-consuming and complex tasks such as IT or marketing. Find someone who specializes in those areas so you know you have an expert helping you spend your company money wisely.
Information Technology, or IT, can be a complicated and confusing topic to many business owners. If you don’t bring in outside help or outsource to a product expert, you could leave your firm exposed to a cyber-attack, which in turn could end up way costlier than what you pay to have someone manage it.
The same goes for marketing expenses. If done wrong, it could cost you a lot more money than hiring someone who knows how to spend your marketing dollars effectively. Marketing is essential to every business. The strategies of nurturing an audience and reeling in ideal clients are not something everyone can do. Outsourcing the marketing duties of your law practice is worth the cost, especially if you want to grow or scale your firm.
Consider the amount of time it takes to wear an IT or marketing hat in your business. The expense of outsourcing for expertise can save you money, secure your client’s information, give you more time to earn billable hours, and get you the growth you want for your business.
Value for Money, not Time for Money
Having a versatile skill set to handle various aspects of running a business is commendable. While it can lead to cost savings, it's crucial to remember that clients seek your legal expertise when they require assistance. The quality of service they receive matters more to them than seeing you juggle multiple roles.
Unlocking the potential of hiring, delegating, and outsourcing lies in the precious time you gain to offer your clients the undivided attention they truly deserve for their legal matters.
As an attorney, having ample time and a clear mind to serve your clients enhances the value of your service. When clients feel valued and well-cared for, they enthusiastically share their positive experiences and spread the word about your exceptional work. It’s important to recognize that providing value is ultimately more lucrative than simply saving time. This is why entrusting the non-essential tasks to others, which are not integral to the success of your law practice, becomes a key factor in fostering prosperity.
Standardizing Your Processes, Such as Your Professional Liability Insurance
When you shop your professional liability insurance, is your primary mission to secure quality coverage or score a lower price tag? Many attorneys are shopping price but fail to address the hours spent to possibly save a few bucks.
Spending time filling out several applications and forms, submitting them to multiple agents, and reviewing all the bids that roll in takes time. Making sure you’re getting the best “bang for your buck” makes sense, but so does saving your valuable time. Here are a few things that can help you do both:
- Find yourself a knowledgeable and dependable agent. The experience and resources your agent offers will be invaluable to you. Whether you are simply renewing your policy or requesting they shop your coverage, agents who are well-versed in professional liability insurance will know how to streamline these processes for you.
- Partner up with an agent or carrier that can offer opportunities to earn CLE credit at no additional cost. Whether you are scouring the internet to find free CLE courses, or you are paying for CLE bundles to get the required credit, you will save time and money by finding a carrier that offers this free benefit.
- Insure your law firm with a carrier that offers an automatic renewal process. This will save you time by not having to complete a lengthy renewal application and supplemental forms each year. Another carrier may have a lower premium but requires a 5-page application every year. The automatic renewal process reduces the time spent renewing your professional liability insurance by streamlining the process and reducing the amount of back-and-forth involved. With the automatic renewal process, you receive your renewal quote first, and at that time you can renew if there have been no substantial changes, in just two steps!
Wrapping up
Squandered time is a leak in your profits. Take the time to evaluate all tasks and processes. Identify where you could save time, invest in new team members or technology, and pinpoint obsolete tasks that can be removed. Consider what you do day-to-day as well as those annual tasks, like your professional liability insurance renewal. Doing this work upfront will save hours as you move forward in your law practice. Your clients will see your reduced stress and efficiency, and you will see the growth you want for your business.
