Six-Month Review: Looking Back and Looking Forward

Six months is a long time, but it comes and goes so quickly. Yesterday, it seemed like the year was just starting and firms were setting goals for the year. Now we’re here at the halfway mark, and it’s time for a six-month review.

You should be looking back and forward to see what:

Went well and why (acknowledge new processes you may have put in place that worked well)
Could go better, here are a few possibilities:
- Number of new clients
- Client engagement
- Better utilization rates from staff
- Less unpaid client invoices for more money

If you reevaluate the first half of the year and make key changes, it will help you progress toward your goals.

What Are Good Goals and Metrics to Review Halfway Through the Year?

Your firm should review metrics that help you reach your goals. A few general areas that you can focus on include:

Client Engagement

A recent legal study found that 85% of lawyers believe client satisfaction is important for success, but just 37% measured client satisfaction rates. Your firm can send out surveys to clients asking about:

Client communication satisfaction
General client satisfaction

Is your firm supporting client communication? If not, then it’s time to look at the tools you have available to improve client communication. Client engagement can help your firm stand out from others and is an area that firms can also leverage to be more productive.

Are you using Secure client portals? This tool allows you to improve client communication:

Request client documents
Set deadlines
Communicate with clients

Firms can have processes and procedures in place to reply to messages rapidly and keep clients “in the loop” about their legal matters.

Investing in client engagement is never a bad choice for law firms because when you put the client first, it leads to higher satisfaction rates.

Billing & Payments

Cash flow helps your firm pay its bills, but it’s easy to send out invoices weeks after a service is rendered to a client or to overlook past-due payments for too long. You need to ask yourself a few questions:

Have you been consistent with your client invoicing?
Do you have reminders in place to remind clients to pay their bills?

Software can help you do all of this and more. Clio is a good example because it’s a platform that we know well and integrates into modern firm tech stacks. You can use Clio to:

Automate bill reminders
Accept payments
Prepare and Send invoices
Replenish Trust Balances (Retainers)

If you’re still sending invoices out late or taking a laid-back approach to invoicing and reminders, it will impact your cash flow. Focus on billing and payments to help you through the latter half of the year.

Encouraged Referrals and New Business

Referrals and new business help your law firm grow and reach its goals. Over the last six months, have you continued to stay in touch with past clients and encouraged referrals?

Research has found that 10% of new law firm business comes from client referrals, so it’s important not to overlook the value of maintaining client relationships.

Are you tracking new business from referrals? And are you sending thank you notes to these referrals? If referrals and new business have declined over the last six months, what can you do to reverse this trend?

Can you:

Focus on building stronger relationships with clients?
Look at your inner circle of business colleagues and possible referral partners?
Improve your marketing strategy?

Whatever improvements you decide to implement, make sure that you have a way to track your progress and see whether your efforts are paying off.

The Team

Your team is the backbone of your law firm, and they have a direct impact on your performance.

When looking back over the last six months, consider whether they helped support your yearly goals and initiatives.

Analyze your team and areas that may need improvement. Ask yourself:

Do you have the right roles to support your firm and its services?
Should you evaluate hiring?
Do you have the right people in the right roles?
Is your team supporting your revenue goals for the firm?
Have you set expectations for weekly billable hours to hold your staff accountable?

When team members excel in their roles, they often feel more satisfied in their work, are more productive, and will be more motivated to help the firm achieve its goals.

It’s important for firms to set goals every year and to review the progress on those goals regularly. When you have questions or need help identifying opportunities for improvement, CPN Legal is here to help. We can assist with implementing processes and utilizing tools to help you meet your annual goals.