Before You Launch: Design Your Law Firm Intentionally (Full Transcript)

[00:00:02] Speaker 1: Stephanie, in episode 600 of our Lawyers Podcast, we talked about the big picture, the three paths that people have, the constraints every firm is going to hit. And I think a lot of people walked away from that with a sense of, okay, I need to be more intentional. But we really stopped short of really digging into what intentional actually looks like in practice. So today, I want to go earlier, before the firm is even up and running. In that time period, what's the conversation that you wish you could have with every lawyer before they launch?

[00:00:43] Speaker 2: Yeah. I wish the conversation most lawyers don't have, but should have with themselves is to really ask, why am I actually doing this? I don't mean in that fluffy, find-your-purpose way, but I mean it really diagnostically, right? Because the answer to that question determines almost every structural decision that follows, and most lawyers skip it entirely.

[00:01:09] Speaker 1: So then what are the wrong reasons? And is there really a wrong reason to start a firm?

[00:01:16] Speaker 2: Wrong, it may be too strong of a word to use, but I do think there's a difference between launching towards something and launching away from something, right? So we know a lot of people start their firms because they're escaping, maybe a bad boss, bad culture, a firm that didn't work for them. And that's a perfectly legitimate reason to want to start your own firm. But if escape is your primary driver, you end up building a firm that's maybe just a reaction to what you left, and you often replicate that model that you hated because it might be the only model that you know. And so you end up rebuilding the same problems, but under a different name on the door.

[00:02:03] Speaker 1: Oh, yeah. Yeah, I've seen that. I mean, you leave to get away from something specific. And two years later, my dad used to say he would look at his finger and be like, that's my dad's finger. Two years later, you're like, I have the exact same problems because that's what I knew and I didn't build with intentionality.

[00:02:27] Speaker 2: Yeah. I mean, I think the reality is you didn't design differently, you just moved. And this is the opportunity though. This is where I want to slow people down before they launch. Not to talk them out of it, because starting a firm can be one of the best decisions that a lawyer makes, but there's a difference between starting a firm and designing a business. And that distinction matters from day one.

[00:02:55] Speaker 1: Okay. So if someone's sitting there thinking about launching, how do they actually know if they're ready? Emotionally ready, but structurally, strategically ready to go.

[00:03:08] Speaker 2: So I want to push them on three questions, and these aren't about, but I do need them to make an honest assessment of themselves. And the first question is, can you sell?