One secret of highly successful attorneys is that they make time to plan for the future. We recommend meeting at least once per quarter with your senior partners (even if you are the entire partnership) to evaluate achievements, set new goals and work on your law firm marketing plan.

Here are some of the areas for you to focus on:

Financial goals for your business --Don’t just focus on the money; focus on how you will get there.  If your average client spends $5,000 with you, you will need 100 clients to break $500,000 this year. That works out to about 2 new clients per week.  Unless you want a high volume law practice, you will need to develop a way to up-sell new clients into higher-end services.

Practice Area Specific Goals -- How many new estate plans do you want to do in the next 6 months?  How many new trials are you willing to take on this year?

Marketing Goals --All the top law firms in the country recognize the importance of marketing and business development.  You need to set measurable marketing goals. “I will meet with 4 new referral sources every month.” How are you going to meet them?  Who is going to set those meetings up?  Who will do the follow up?

Strategic Business Goals-- This is where you start to think big about your practice.  Challenge yourself; how can you come up with another $100,000 this year? How can you go from your current 5 referral sources to 30 in the next 6 months?

Personal Goals --Perhaps you need to schedule a vacation for yourself every quarter.  Maybe you have an idea for a new business venture.  What place does your family, friends or significant other hold in your life?

Above all, make sure your goals are S.M.A.R.T. -- Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Results-oriented, and Timed.  A good goal needs to incorporate all of these criteria.