By John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC Q. I am a solo attorney and have had my practice for 15 years. I have one secretary that has been with me 14 years. I have heard you and others state that solo and small firm practitioners need to work on getting to the next level. What is the next level? A. The next level is when your practice begins to build synergy – when one plus one equals three or four rather than two. It is when you have a sufficient consistent volume of work that you are able to add additional layers of attorneys and staff. When lawyers start out their practices, most support themselves on their own work or time production. However, eventually there must be others in the firm who generate more profits than they consume and thus provide additional income to the owners. This is leverage. Leverage can come from junior level owners, associates, paralegals, and legal assistants. The important takeaway here is eventually a structure must exist within the firm whereby each owner can make a reasonable income but not have to provide all of it himself or herself. This must come to pass if the senior lawyers are to spend more time on firm investment activities (non-billable matters) such as generating new business, training and mentoring new associates, or managing the firm. While the getting to the next level can improve profitability if done right – new challenges and frustrations come into play as well. You must now manage others – motivate them, hire and fire, and retain quality lawyers and staff. You are now a manager as well as a lawyer – like it or not! John W. Olmstead, MBA, Ph.D, CMC, is a past chair and member of the ISBA Standing Committee on Law Office Management and Economics. For more information on law office management please direct questions to the ISBA listserver, which John and other committee members review, or view archived copies of The Bottom Line Newsletters. Contact John at jolmstead@olmsteadassoc.com.