Small Law firm’s Organizational Structure
How can you assign duties within your business?
Every business needs organization.
However, many consider that a good organization equals hierarchy, and that the term comes across as authoritarian or bossy, something people are not fond of as of this century (we neither, by the way).
Still, as uncomfortable as it is, the truth is that a business where everything is decided by everyone and every teammate is responsible for several functions may not quite equate to success.
A messy workplace is impractical and can send your customers a message of untidiness and chaos. And as you may have guessed, most likely, potential clients will flee from a workplace like that.
So you need structure to ensure a neatly-organized business.
However, nobody teaches you about work organizational structures when you are studying Law. You will unlikely know how to set up your staff for each role or determine who is better suited for which. Maybe you are just studying how many positions there are to fill. So how about we start talking first about how to approach this issue?
Honestly, it is not uncommon for some companies to be slow regarding decision-making.
You may even have noticed that several businesses are poorly reviewed on social media or Google, with people ranting about how the customer service is of poor quality.
Apart from the obvious cases where there is a scam involved, this usually happens due to the incapacity of the business owners to assign roles and properly monitor what their team is doing. Thus, every member acts as they please, leaving the workplace to its own devices.
Decisions require a leader willing to put the flag on the ground. Having a person who knows that they are in charge of the rest of the group and acts accordingly is the first step in the right direction.
Finding the Right Law Firm Organizational Structure
Think of a firm where everyone knows exactly what they are in charge of.
Their role is clear, and they have decision-making authority for each field.
If someone is in charge of marketing and an issue pops up, they’ll be confident enough to decide which way is best to fix the problem. ASAP.
They will still need to report to their boss because having authority for each role does not mean a lack of communication. But they still get to decide and act on what to do in their area of expertise.
That is the main benefit of having your organizational structure settled.
Since they know of what they are accountable for, they will watch their role at the company more carefully, and act responsibly. This way, your teammates will set up systems to spot issues right away before they become struggles. In proper terms, this is about “owning” each role.
The focus here is not on “order” but on “accountability”. We are emphatizing that you determine and sort out the roles and responsibilities that you need for your business first.
With this mindset, you will enhance your company’s productivity and efficiency.
How can you determine which occupations are there to fill?
One approach to make this easier is drawing an accountability chart.
This will allow you to see what roles you could need today or in the future, which enables you to see a complete picture of your business.
This way you will also identify what positions need to change, and what areas are growing (and thriving)
Benefits of an Accountability Chart
An accountability chart maps out roles and responsibilities. It lists the law firm’s organizational structure and who is responsible for what in the firm.
As pictured above, your accountability chart needs to show which tasks
(Task 1, 2, 3) are assigned to who (Person A, B, C).
Infographics and visual material will always be of help to give you some clarity and transparency for your firm’s statistics and numbers. It also makes understanding easier.
Bear in mind that, although everyone has the power to make decisions, input from others is also important and beneficial. Accountability simply means that one person has the authority to decide when it is game time.
Additionally, the accountability chart also allows you to see who may have too much or too little responsibility, who could be feeling burdened by too much work, or maybe someone could take some time to help others in further matters?
To aim for a well-organized and efficient team, you also need to be a good, accountable leader.
How can I Create an Accountability Chart?
Think about your business in terms of major functions.
Every business has at least three of them:
- Planning how to attract new clients (sales or marketing)
- Delivering the product to clients (legal services)
- Handling the back-end operations (administration and management)
The organizational structure of a small law firm can vary depending on its size and type.
According to Attorney at Law Magazine, the organizational structure of a small law firm typically consists of these key parts:
Leader/CEO/owner/managing partner
At the top of the chain is the person who has the ultimate responsibility for the firm’s operations, profitability, risk management, and growth.
They must know what roles and functions need to be played in a law firm’s organizational structure.
They are also responsible of creating and maintaining the firm’s vision, ethics, and values, managing its overall profit and loss, and team management.
Remember that this role means being responsible for big decisions that can change the business’s future.
Administrative staff
Next in the chain is the administrative staff.
They are in charge of the back-end operations of the law firm.
This part of the team functions as an umbrella:
You can have finance and accounting, billing and invoicing, collections, accounts payable, and payroll.
Human resources and team management could include hiring, benefit negotiation and administration, and training.
If your firm is small, the administrative staff may only consist of receptionists, administrative assistants, and bookkeepers.
Even though these positions might not seem as prominent as others might, they have one of the most significant impacts on a firm’s overall success. Handle the selection of your administrative staff wisely.
Lawyers/Legal team
Next comes the legal team, the heart of a small law firm.
Most often, lawyers are the firm’s primary revenue generators. In small law firms, this team is typically made up of a few lawyers who handle a range of cases and have responsibilities in different practice areas.
Paralegals and File Clerks
Now you think about how you may help your legal team to deliver their legal services.
What functions do exist here?
Usually, this field deals with the role of paralegals and file clerks, people who will assist the lawyer’s team with tasks such as conducting research, drafting documents, and preparing for trials.
These positions are essential to ensuring that the legal team can focus on providing high-quality service to clients.
Typically, they are less experienced than the other associates and do not have the same level of authority. However, as Attorney at Law states:
With a good and effective team surrounding them, they will flourish appropriately.
Marketing or Sales Team
Then comes the people in charge of getting new clients: the marketing team.
Legal marketing workers are in charge of attracting new prospective clients to the firm. They work to create an image and a reputation for the business, to make the brand known.
With all that, you would have mapped out all the functions you need to fill for your law firm.
When all is said and done you can go about with the hiring process, and then properly start adding names and titles to each box in the chart.
Caring for your employees satisfaction
Each person needs to have a manageable workload.
Burnout, as you may have heard, is pretty common within the legal field, and, as a leader, you must keep an eye on how you assign each associate’s work quantity.
A quick Google search will show you numerous articles about lawyers’ burnout syndrome, dissatisfaction about their workplace, and general unhappiness. All of these symptoms are not only detrimental to your business growth, but also to their mental and physical health.
For example, a 2015 Chicago Tribune article reported that just 44% of big firms’ lawyers were happy with their careers, and only 68% of public interest lawyers were satisfied with theirs.
Despite the often-discussed dissatisfaction in the legal industry, employee satisfaction and happiness play a key role in your law firm’s overall growth.
Another study, a 2015 one out of Kansas University, found a positive association between increased employee satisfaction and subsequent company performance.
If you want to enhance productivity, keep your employees happy!
And, in case you are still not convinced that your organizational environment can and will affect your business growth negatively if not properly cared for, you can see the other five related studies cited in this article from Glassdoor.
A hierarchical, tyrannical organizational structure will not be beneficial for any of you, as it can create workplace segregation and destructive behavior.
You need to create a safe environment where everyone can exchange ideas and collaborate. This usually leads to a happier team, who in turn will feel confident enough to take decisions and partake in their roles with a lot of extra determination, managing their work accordingly.
With increased engagement comes improved performance, which later reflects in your company’s statistics.
Your Role as Leader
Another thing to bear in mind is not to save all the bigger responsibilities for yourself.
Remember that your law firm, small as it may be, consists of a team.
A simple way to identify whether you are being too overprotective of your tasks is to ask yourself,
“If I were to take a week off work, would my law firm advance and keep functioning?”
If you say no, the thing is, you are not managing your team appropriately — you are micromanaging.
Your role as a leader is to lead. That does not equate to having to do everything by yourself. By maintaining good communication with the rest of your staff, you ensure that they can manage the finer details of your firm’s goals and priorities by themselves.
An efficient, well-structured law firm will function as a clock, with each member being essential to its functioning.
A well-designed organizational hierarchy or structure can help ensure that small law firms can operate more efficiently and effectively. However, keep in mind that this all starts with positioning an appropriate staff and hiring appropriately and wisely.
If your workplace functions accordingly, then, do not forget:
Rely on your team!
Introducing Legal27; An AI-driven Receptionist Team
With this reason in mind, at Legal27, we provide you with a high-quality AI-driven receptionist team that will be in charge of handling the client’s communication.
Though it is an artificial intelligence service, it is not simply a robot that we are talking about:
This AI-driven worker is specially tailored for lawyers, and trained to handle all aspects of your firm’s phone reception, including but not limiting to:
✅ Appointment scheduling: The receptionist team can efficiently manage your firm’s appointments, ensuring scheduling that syncs directly with your working calendar. Thus, you can save valuable time and avoid scheduling conflicts.
✅Call Management: Legal27 can handle incoming calls, identifying their purpose, addressing the need for information, and providing it based on the client’s inquiries.
✅Client Intake: The team can collect and organize client information, reducing administrative burdens for you and your associates and ensuring the accuracy of data collection.
✅24/7 availability: Legal27 provides a highly proficient service of understanding, handling, and managing your client’s queries 24 hours a day. It will also never call in sick, making sure you never, ever miss a call from anywhere. The AI-driven receptionist is available round-the-clock!
From friendly customer service to message-taking and appointment scheduling, Legal27 provides a professional, smart service that will allow you to take your legal practice to the next level.
Reach out and contact us today!
