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17 May 2012 / Adam Caplan
Issue: 7514 / Categories: Features , Profession , Marketing
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Thinking big

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Adam Caplan continues his series on how to a grow a law firm

In part one of this series I introduced the concept of key performance indicators (KPIs) to help you find out what makes your business tick. We looked at initial KPIs such as: number of clients, number of active hours billed, average hourly rates, and average hours per client. This tells you where your business is currently. This is known as “Where you are now” (see NLJ).

We now need to set some goals for the coming year based on the results of your KPIs. Examples of goals could be: (i) increase the number of clients on my books by 10%; (ii) increase my active existing client base by 15%; (iii) increase my annual billing hours by 10%; (iv) increase my average hourly billing rate by 10%; and (v) improve my hours per client billed by 10%.

How will you achieve these goals? First, you must ensure that having worked out your KPIs for the previous 12 months, you can look

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

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Sponsored by
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Trowers & Hamlins—Rahul Sagar

Banking and finance practice bolstered by partner hire

mfg Solicitors—Ian Sheppard

mfg Solicitors—Ian Sheppard

Commercial litigation team welcomes senior associate in Birmingham

Birketts—Nathan Evans

Birketts—Nathan Evans

Commercial and technology team in Cambridge strengthened by partner hire

NEWS
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NLJ this week: Mazur and more—inside the litigation frontline

From blockbuster judgments to procedural shake-ups, the courts are busy reshaping litigation practice. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School hails the Court of Appeal's 'exquisite judgment’ in Mazur restoring the role of supervised non-qualified staff, and highlights a ‘mammoth’ damages ruling likened to War and Peace, alongside guidance on medical reporting fees, where a pragmatic 25% uplift was imposed

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Momentum is building behind proposals to restrict children’s access to social media—but the legal and practical challenges are formidable. In NLJ this week, Nick Smallwood of Mills & Reeve examines global moves, including Australia’s under-16 ban and the UK's consultation
NLJ this week: Leasehold reform risks creating ‘forgotten freeholders’
Reforms designed to rebalance landlord-tenant relations may instead penalise leaseholders themselves. In this week's NLJ, Mike Somekh of The Freehold Collective warns that the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024 risks creating an ‘underclass’ of resident-controlled freehold companies
NLJ this week: Court of Appeal clarifies when a claim truly begins
Timing is everything—and the Court of Appeal has delivered clarity on when proceedings are ‘brought’. In his latest 'Civil way' column for NLJ, Stephen Gold explains that a claim is issued for limitation purposes when the claim form is delivered to the court, even if fees are underpaid
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The traditional ‘single, intensive day’ of financial dispute resolution (FDR) may be due for a rethink. Writing in NLJ this week, Rachel Frost-Smith and Lauren Guiler of Birketts propose a ‘split FDR’ model, separating judicial evaluation from negotiation
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