Four strategies for launching specialized law firms, based on real experience

Summary

• Four keys to success that two attorneys learned along the way as they built their own specialized law firm, which may be useful to other attorneys considering starting one.
• Saying no to potential clients can benefit the firm's future, so it is important to determine whether your firm's expertise is a good fit for the client's needs.
• Before starting a specialized law firm, establish clearly defined operational structures and performance metrics.

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When we started Dragonfly Law Group on July 1, 2024, the dream was to be of service to Tribal institutional clients in a collaborative and transformative way. Dragonfly Law Group serves Tribal Nations throughout the United States. Our specialty is serving Tribal schools and colleges, Tribal housing entities, and litigation of complex jurisdictional issues and land claims. When the firm opened, there was an abundance of work, talented team members, and a vision of how we would be of service to our clients. What we did not have were clearly defined operational structures or performance metrics. We had the freedom to choose, but not the knowledge of what to choose. There are four things we learned along the way that may be useful for other attorneys thinking about starting a specialized law firm.

Clients Guide What Service Looks Like

In our institutional work, clients would call us to litigate after relationships had deteriorated and they needed lawyers to defend the institution. As we grew, we realized that the western legal model of due process, including formal grievance processes in which there are a winner and a loser, did not meet our clients’ needs. We made a conscious decision to focus our work on fostering client systems and policies founded in restorative practices rooted in Indigenous teachings. We work extensively with clients who are implementing systems that build, strengthen, and restore relationships through dialogue, reflection, and communication. The result has been less time litigating and more time creating alongside our clients to truly transform our client relationships. There is such a benefit to knowing we are of service in building relationships rather than being on the winning side. In the communities that we serve, the winner and loser binary and adversarial models further deepen colonial and Western intrusion into the Tribal communities we serve. These externally imposed systems continue to cause generational damage that harms our clients’ interests and the communities they serve. The refocus of our work has served our clients and their communities very well.

Operating Systems Produce Freedom

When we started the firm, we focused on being of service to our clients and we assumed that, since we are a small firm, we didn’t need detailed operating procedures and systems. We learned quickly that while collaboration and figuring it out as we went kept the doors open and the bills paid, without structured systems that establish common practices and expectations across team members, and taking the time to analyze performance metrics, we were limiting our ability to effectively serve clients and to grow. One size does not fit all firms. Our policies and operating systems have evolved tremendously over the past 18 months and continue to evolve. The result is less firefighting and more freedom for our team members to organize their work to fit their lives. We learned that flexibility is different than operating without a clearly defined system. The systems we have in place were developed with the help of business coaches, team collaborative input, and trial and error. Here are some of the system elements we found useful:

• Schedule blocks of time: We have one-hour blocks of time during the day when we check emails, answer calls from clients, and openly communicate on projects. The other hours of the day are organized into blocks of project time when team members can expect no interruptions. This helps with clarity and communication. Our team members can work remotely or in the office, and we have not seen any negative effect on productivity from allowing that flexibility.
• Provide profit sharing for all attorneys and paralegals: We utilize quarterly bonuses for exceeding reasonable billable hours expectations. It is open to all paralegals and attorneys. We meet weekly to review time and work through what the data on time is teaching us about changes in operations and required adjustments.
• Track financials weekly and communicate with clients on invoices weekly: We now have a system to address accounts receivable every week. These simple changes have kept the firm as a business on track financially. We spend about 20 hours a month on the business side of the practice, looking at data and metrics and collaborating with team members on how we can further improve our collective ways of operating. This shift—from looking at operating systems as a necessary evil or something we wrote and put on a shelf but do not use to being an essential part of our operations—is producing results for both our team members and our clients.

Saying No to Potential Clients Is an Act of Service

We make conscious decisions on which clients we work with based on whether our expertise is a good fit for the client and, honestly, based on whether a client pays invoices on time. Being a small firm, our time is best spent on client work—not on collections or trying to change how we operate to meet each client’s expectations. We communicate clear expectations with clients before we are retained. We explore whether the client is a good fit for what we do and how we operate. And we do that before we are retained. We are open to team members branching out into new fields that foster their growth as professionals. Because we are committed to restorative practices, we choose clients who choose this approach to building systems, or are, at a minimum, willing to explore the possibilities.

Specializing Does Not Limit Growth

When we started out, we were concerned that our specialty was too unique—that there wouldn’t be enough work. We learned that the depth of our knowledge in the field of restorative practices, rooted in the Tribal communities and institutions that we serve, is more than we need to sustain our practice and foster growth. In the first year of operation, the firm received several national and regional recognitions for the quality of our work without any conscious effort to seek recognition. For us, specializing has not limited our growth—it is a critical part of our success.

What Does the Future Hold?

One of our primary philosophies is that transformation and change are freedom. Instead of viewing change as a threat to be managed, we view change as transformative and aligned with freedom. Whether it’s changing systems and operating practices, changing team roles, or changing how we interact with clients, commitment to change keeps us inspired to do the work. Serving Tribal institutions and communities is a constantly evolving practice. And it is guided by the clients we serve. When we come from a place of respect and humility for our clients, the communities they serve, and the vision and mission of their work, we are better positioned to be true advocates for our clients in effectuating the impact they aim to have. What a privilege to wake up every day looking forward to being of service in a meaningful way.

Endnotes

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Authors

Rebecca Kidder

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