Introduction

Where would the growth of your law practice come from? Be it a solo practice or a law firm that you are trying to build, there is a lot that can be done on the business side.

Good processes, policies and organization building practices can go a long way to create competitive advantages and entrench you as a dominating player in the legal services market.

The traditional and conservative opinion of many lawyers is that if you are a good lawyer, work will come to you. They say that a lawyer need not engage in business development or promotional activities and that in fact, such practices are unethical in the legal profession!

If you do believe in that tenet too, then we would not even try to persuade you otherwise. Please stop reading this any further, you will only be perhaps shocked and disappointed. In any case, wait for a few years, and you would see legal practice development and management practices becoming all-pervasive. A vast majority of lawyers will not even be able to sustain themselves in the legal market without substantially investing in these practices.

The practice of law is rapidly changing in every way, in response to massive tectonic shifts in the economy, technology and legal infrastructure. Older ways of doing things are rapidly becoming obsolete. New opportunities are arising that were difficult to imagine even a few years back.

And building a law practice or a law firm in this scenario requires strategic thinking, focused efforts and great execution. It is important to think of your practice or law firm as a business, a form of entrepreneurship. There are aspects like finance, strategy, human resources, organizational culture, client delight, information security and technology that needs the investment of time, effort and money.

Most lawyers put zero efforts towards these ends. For a vast majority of lawyers, law practice is just all about you finding clients somehow and winning the case or getting some paperwork done.

Imagine that there are two law practices. One has put in a lot of work into the market study, choice of practice area, developing systems that create efficiency, leveraging technology, creating teams that work well together, having well-developed policies and an underlying well-oiled organization that is primed and trained to make the lawyers more productive. It also invests time and money towards systematic business development efforts.

And there is another law firm that puts no effort towards the business aspects of a law practice but focuses on acquiring legal expertise for the lawyers and rely on the skill of individuals alone to deliver results to clients. Let’s assume that lawyers in this second firm are, in general, better in terms of knowledge and expertise rather than the previous firm which invested a lot in systems.

Which one do you think will do better in the long run? Some romantics will like to think that the firm with better lawyers but no system will win. But sorry, that is not how it works. In the medium to long run, it is almost certain that the law firm that invests in systems and good management will trounce the ones that do not do so.

Why is that? This happens due to efficiencies. Benefits accumulate and compound over time. Even a slight advantage over the years can lead to drastically better overall results. Compounding in competitive advantages work just like compounding of interests, and compounding has been called the 8th wonder of the world by Benjamin Graham, an economist and legendary investor who inspired Warren Buffet.

But how do you go about planning, strategizing and building your practise or law firm? If you are like most lawyers, you are probably getting too caught up in day-to-day legal work to spend time on developing your practice, building your reputation and brand or meeting the next big clients. Perhaps, your experience is that you do not have the time and opportunity or even guidance to work on these aspects to develop your practice.

That’s quite common.

It is the story of every lawyer until they figure out how to rise above these waves of daily chores, firefighting, unsatisfied clients, a disappointing performance from admin and communication failures. It is very much part of getting better at legal practice development.

How would you like to grow your law practice predictably, reliably and smoothly? It is possible to do so by applying sound principles of management and building systems with purpose and clarity.

Legal practice management is not an easy task, and one has to learn it.

You can either learn small lessons from trial and error, every now and then, or learn it systematically and apply the lessons to your law practice in a focused and organized manner.

Surely, doing it systematically can make a world of difference. It is much less painful and far more profitable.

Additionally, the legal industry is evolving too rapidly for comfort. Machine learning and artificial intelligence threaten to take over, and yet millions of lawyers are poised to join the profession in a few years. Competition is cut-throat, and it may not be easy to understand or anticipate where the next big opportunity is going to come from.

How will market dynamics affect your practice over the next 5 years? What do you need to do differently?

Let us learn by standing on the shoulders of giants.

We are, therefore, proud to announce the Law Practice Development and Management course for lawyers looking to build law firms and chambers of the future.

The material taught in this course is distilled from the experience and wisdom of the most successful lawyers as well as business managers from other related services domains such as management consulting. We had the benefit of working with some great legal entrepreneurs who have built big law practices as well as have been partners in some of the most remarkable law firms.

We would have a few of them offering live classes as well as part of this effort. Hence, you will get to learn the most critical lessons straight from lawyers who have built great law practices or manage some of the best law firms. This is really a rare opportunity.

Learn about practice development and management from the very best!

We’ve designed the course to create a new generation of leaders in the legal industry. We also aim to create a close-knit ecosystem of practitioners who can build on each other's experience and grow together. Join us, and be the pioneers of legal practice development and management in India.

To sum it up, the course will enable you to:

• Grow your practice faster and scale new heights
• Explore new markets and new practice areas
• Increase revenue and profitability of your practice or law firm
• You will develop a detailed executable business plan to take things to the next level
• You will learn to hire better and retain the good quality lawyers
• You will develop practices and policies that ensure a very high level of client satisfaction, referrals and repeat business
• Create a better professional network and build a brand for yourself
• Manage your finances better through planning and execution
• Identify major opportunities in the legal market that can transform your practice
• Use technology to get a competitive advantage, create efficiency and earn more

Who should take this course?

• Law firm partners
• Principal associates looking to develop BD and management skills 
• Lawyers who are starting their own law firms 
• Solo practitioners looking to develop profitable practices 
• Young lawyers who want to go independent soon
• Lawyers shifting from in-house roles to law firms or litigation

What is the career potential after doing this course?

• Create your own fee book and make partner faster
• Will you work for someone else all your life? Get the freedom and autonomy you always wanted by creating your own practice.
• Build technology-driven market aligned modern law practices
• Scale law firms while retaining high-quality work
• Start your own law firm and grow it
• Become a business development or management professional within the legal industry

What is unique about this course?

• The course is not theoretical. It is based on case studies of actual law practices and successful law firms.
• You will find answers to real-life questions and dilemmas you are already dealing with, or deal with in the future with respect to the growth of your practice.
• You will not be learning from professors and theoreticians but from law firm partners and successful practitioners who have built breakthrough practices.
• The course trains you on different kinds of actual work that is required to be performed for growing and managing a law practice, from business development to strategy and planning. You will draft policies and process documents you can implement in your practice.
• The idea is to move towards smooth operations and predictable growth of your practice.
• There will be hands-on practical lessons where you will have to draft policies, create business plans, achieve tactical clarity and take important calls about your practice under the guidance of mentors.
• The course is tough and intensive, and you will not be awarded the certificate unless you complete all the exercises. You have to spend 8-10 hours per week on this course.
• You will get personal attention and coaching from our in-house trainers, and get individual feedback on the quality of work you produce.
• You will be writing an article every month and with our guidance publish the same either on iPleaders blog or various other industry publications, and this would give you a headstart with your personal branding.
• You would get an opportunity to network with other lawyers like you who are also working on building world-class law practices. The opportunity to network is truly exceptional here. 
• Get access to online classes by experts every week, in which we would discuss a very critical aspect of growing a law practice, or management. For example, how to structure partnerships in a better way, how to incentivize and retain talent, how to manage the quality of work while scaling up a law practice, how to build a brand as a legal service provider, how to use technology to grow your client base faster etc.

View Refund Policy

Training Methodology

Online 24/7 access

Access study materials via our online portal & via our anroid & iOS apps.

Hard Copy Study Material

You will receive hard copy study material delivered to your address.

Practical Exercises

Two practical exercises every week, each followed by written feedback.

Live Online Classes

Live online classes based on exercises, allowing questions and feedback.

Convenient Class timings

Classes held after work hours, typically on Sundays or after 8 PM on weekdays.

Live Doubt Clearing

Live doubt clearing for support and one-on-one sessions with mentors.

Certification

This course is recognized by the National Skill Development Corporation, a PPP under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship of the Government of India. You will receive a certificate cobranded by NSDC and Skill India on successful completion.

This is how the certificate from NSDC and Skill India will look as per the current applicable format (may change as per the approval authorities):

What will you learn?

• How to price legal services
• What are the policies you need to create?
• How to plan the finances for the growth of your law practice
• How to go about expanding a law firm - adding new partners, practices and cities
• How to hire right across different levels
• Full service v. boutique - how does it work
• How to build the brand of your law firm
• How to use technology for efficiency, competitive advantage and growth
• How to manage relationships with big corporate clients
• Importance of knowledge management practices and systems in a law firm
• How to get international clients and creating global alliances
• Getting empanelled as a lawyer or a law firm - how does it work
• The digital presence of law firms and partners - is it important?
• Client service: how to build a seamless system for awesome client experience
• How to structure partnerships and equity
• How to avoid disappointing clients
• How does referral arrangements work in the legal world
• How should a law firm partner go about business development
• Networking for law firm partners and boutique law firm owners: how to do it right
• Profitability v. Expansion - how to balance
• How to retain the best talent and manage attrition rate
• How to identify, cultivate and attract the best talent
• How to identify new and emerging areas to grow your practice in
• How to plan and build the support organization for your law firm
• How to find the first 3 clients when you are starting your practice
• How do you find a partner to work with when you are starting a law firm
• How to ensure the quality of work as your firm grows bigger
• Nightmares of a law firm partner
• Recovery of fees - what are the best practices?

Specific Learning Objectives

• Study different business models of law firms and solo practices
• Understanding the major market forces that are shaping the legal industry
• Identify emerging opportunities and trends
• What technology can you use to increase the quality of legal service delivery and efficiency while reducing costs?
• How to develop a mission and vision for your law firm
• How to develop a client experience blueprint and manage lifecycle journey
• How to develop and execute an annual business plan
• How to strategize expansion - adding partners and practice areas
• How to develop a hiring policy and practices to attract high-quality talent
• Reducing attrition: building culture, incentive policies and career progression plan
• How to build operational processes for smooth execution by your team
• Document control systems - how to make legal teamwork frictionless
• How to develop a content strategy for digital presence
• Using PR professionals - critical lessons
• Best practices for business development
• How to design and execute knowledge management and training programs
• What do big corporate clients expect and how to deliver 
• How to make law firm partnerships work and avoid splits

List of Weekly Exercises

• How to price legal services
• What are the policies you need to create?
• How to plan the finances for the growth of your law practice
• How to go about expanding a law firm – adding new partners, practices and cities
• How to hire right across different levels
• Full service v. boutique – how does it work
• How to build the brand of your law firm
• How to use technology for efficiency, competitive advantage and growth
• How to manage relationships with big corporate clients
• Importance of knowledge management practices and systems in a law firm
• How to get international clients and creating global alliances
• Getting empanelled as a lawyer or a law firm – how does it work
• The digital presence of law firms and partners – is it important?
• Client service: how to build a seamless system for awesome client experience
• How to structure partnerships and equity
• How to avoid disappointing clients
• How does referral arrangements work in the legal world
• How should a law firm partner go about business development
• Networking for law firm partners and boutique law firm owners: how to do it right
• Profitability v. Expansion – how to balance
• How to retain the best talent and manage attrition rate
• How to identify, cultivate and attract the best talent
• How to identify new and emerging areas to grow your practice in
• How to plan and build the support organization for your law firm
• How to find the first 3 clients when you are starting your practice
• How do you find a partner to work with when you are starting a law firm
• How to add value to your existing clients and prospects to ensure that you are on top of their mind
• How lawyers can find clients online
• Basics of running a law practice - systems, systems, systems
• How to create a powerful web presence and find legal work online
• Important habits for growing law practice rapidly
• How to Obtain Speaking Slots at Events
• How to Get More Clients 
• How to use pro bono work to build a base for your practice
• How to build a practice at the Supreme Court
• How to prepare a winning proposal/roadmap for prospective clients.
• How to use investigators for your law practice
• Digital transformation of Indian industry: what opportunities are being created for lawyers?
• How to get corporate clients
• Thought Leadership for Lawyers to grow their practice
• How to set revenue targets and how to prepare fee quotes
• Legal opportunities for Indian entrepreneurs & investors in Latin America
• Collaborations, partnership structures and establishing synergies
• How to bring efficiency to your practice and the importance of seeking client feedback
• Client Handling: How to Grow Clients, Nurture Them and When to Turn Away a Client?
• Client Nurturing Strategies for different kinds of clients and Branding/Marketing Initiatives in the light of COVID-19
• (Client Nurturing Strategies) for different kinds of clients and Branding/Marketing Initiatives in the light of COVID-19
• Things to keep in mind while setting up a practice and how to prepare for launching your practice
• Positive Culture & Stress Management
• Preparing Request for Proposal (RFP) and Pitch Documents
• Building an effective Website & Social Media Presence

What kind of recruitment and placement support will I get?

• Unique Training Method: We're the sole organization in India offering comprehensive, exercise-based courses.
• Employer Recognition: Many leading employers, law firms, and companies actively seek our high-performing students.
• Career Opportunities: Success in our courses can lead to job placements, internships, and assessment internships in esteemed law firms, with renowned lawyers, and various companies.
• Empowering Learners: We focus on empowering learners with not just knowledge and skills, but also real-world opportunities.
• Dedicated Support Team: Our dedicated team is here to assist you with placements, internships, and freelance opportunities.
• Proven Success: Between April 2021 and June 2023, we've helped over 21,000 students secure job and internship opportunities.
• Media Recognition: Our achievements have been featured in respected media outlets like The Hindu, Business World, and India Education Diary.
• Impressive Value: Our students have secured over Rs. 2.7 Crore (USD 330,000) worth of work, with records of INR 30 LPA (USD 37,500) domestically and INR 50 LPA (USD 62,500) internationally.
• Comprehensive Support: From day one, our placement team guides you in setting goals, crafting standout CVs, enhancing interview skills, and supporting your critical first month on the job or during an internship.
• Trusted Recruiters: We've built strong collaborations with recruiters who prefer hiring our well-trained students.
• Competitive Edge: Partnering with us gives you an edge in the job market and opens doors to exciting career prospects.

How will you clear my doubts and help me if I am struggling to understand or learn a concept?

• In our live classes, you can ask questions, share your screen, receive personal feedback, and have your doubts cleared.
• If you need more help after getting feedback on an assignment or want career advice, you can schedule a private one-on-one call. Our evaluators and mentors are here to assist you and give you advice that's tailored to your needs.