Setting Your Law Firm Administrator Up for Success

In the first two years since launching their small law firm, Partners John, Amy, and Andi have experienced an unexpected degree of success. Time has passed quickly as they’ve dealt with new clients and engagements. However, they’ve realized that the administrative workload has become overwhelming, taking up valuable time and energy. Gathering in their conference room, surrounded by paperwork and to-do lists, they agree it’s time to hire a Law Firm Administrator.

Introduction

We’ve developed a simple guide to aid you in hiring your first or next Law Firm Administrator. While a capable Law Firm Administrator can alleviate a substantial portion of the partners’ administrative burden and prove to be an invaluable asset to the business, finding the right fit for the role requires careful reflection and meticulous planning.

Start with the job description

There is no one-size-fits-all job description for this role, and without setting the parameters for success at the beginning, the Partners and Administrator may have very different ideas about what “doing a good job” means, leading to false assumptions and eroded trust on all sides.

Before you dive into hiring, it’s crucial to map out precisely what you need from your Administrator. Are they going to have a significant leadership role with people management responsibilities? If so, focus on candidates with this experience. Or maybe this role will be more focused on finances or office management?

List the responsibilities of the role. Be clear on what core skillsets and experience they need to operate more autonomously versus where your firm’s leadership may need to provide additional guidance, hands-on involvement, or contract out for specific expertise.

Consider the degree of authority you wish to assign to the Administrator and hire someone with the experience to handle this well. (See step three below.)

A job description provides clarity about what matters to the firm. Then, as the Administrator settles into the role and gets to know the people and culture, the Administrator can apply their unique skillsets and perspectives to make the role their own.

Share information

Once you’ve found your Administrator, give them all the information they need to serve the firm well.

Share your firm’s vision and strategic priorities, and if you have one, the strategic plan.

Provide them with an organizational chart; if that isn’t available, talk them through the firm’s staff and lawyer complement and reporting structure.

Introduce them to the firm’s culture. If your firm’s culture is less conscious and defined (which is most firms!), give the Administrator some time to get a feel for “how things work around here.”

A new administrator can feel pressure to score quick wins for their firm, so leadership should stress the importance of understanding the firm, the business, its people, and its culture before diving into the deep end of decision-making!

The payoff will be a smoother transition (and fewer steps backward) to your Administrator gaining traction and taking more administrative responsibility off leadership’s plates. The more they know, the better they can hit the ground running.

Clarify the lines of authority

The next crucial step is for the partners to understand and agree on which areas they are comfortable relinquishing leadership or control (and commit to doing so) and where they wish to retain greater involvement and oversight.

The allocated leadership responsibilities of the Administrator are best communicated verbally and in writing to the Administrator and all firm members. There is no best practice regarding how much autonomy and authority an Administrator should hold.

With comfortable parameters in place, the Administrator must be able to make decisions without unnecessarily explaining or defending their choices to leadership or other firm members.

The only way for leadership to free itself of that burdensome administrative time is to appropriately relinquish control of administrative matters to the Administrator.

Schedule and prioritise communication

Open channels of communication between leadership and the Administrator are crucial. Schedule regular check-ins and longer meetings with your Administrator for questions, discussion, planning, and feedback.

Prioritise these meetings and protect them in the calendar. Yes, competing priorities will happen, and meetings must be cancelled; that’s the reality. However, it is essential to ensure that if a meeting must be bumped or a decision deferred, you are mindful of checking back in and catching up rather than simply letting it slide. This reinforces the message that questions and communications are welcome and a true partnership between firm leaders and the Administrator is forged.

Supporting their growth

Invest in your Law Firm Administrator’s development. Provide them with regular performance reviews.

Encourage and support the Administrator’s ongoing enrollment in skill-building and training programs.

Encourage the Administrator to join a legal management organization for peer support and more learning opportunities. These organizations often provide a range of valuable resources for the firm.

Hire consultants for discrete projects. Your Administrator can alleviate the burden of much of a law firm’s day-to-day operation, but a firm should still expect to retain and budget for specific expertise in marketing, systems, accounting, human resources, or other more specialized areas.

Consider a Performance Coach. Working with an external coach, particularly one who understands the legal industry, can be a very helpful resource for Administrators new to the industry or those seeking to improve or elevate their performance.

Promoting from within

Are you thinking of promoting someone from your team?

You may have a likeable and capable person on the support team you consider elevating to the role. Before deciding, draft the job description for the ideal Administrator following the guidelines identified above, including the most desirable skills, experience, and attributes that this individual would require.

Assess your internal candidate critically against this job description. Does the candidate possess the skills, experience, and attributes necessary to fill this role? If not, is the firm willing to invest, and is the candidate interested in developing those skills and attributes?

If the answer is no, you may still be able to elevate this individual’s role. However, carefully consider if this truly is the best candidate for your Administrator role or if you are avoiding the inconvenience of exploring the external talent market.

In closing

Setting up your Law Firm Administrator for success is all about planning, clarity around expectations, responsibilities, communication, and support. With these investments in place, you’re not just helping them succeed—you’re setting your firm up for success as well.

Special thanks to Carina Bittel who took the lead on writing the original extended version of this article and invited my collaboration on it. She kindly gave me permission to do a re-write and share this article on SLAW.