Foley Griffin partner, Tom Foley, lectured at the Nassau County Bar Association on March 3, 2016. The topic of this continuing legal education (CLE) lecture was the necessity for all attorneys to have an actual written business plan. Attorneys are trained in law school to read, interpret and understand the law. Unfortunately, attorneys receive very little if any training in how to run a business. Thus, the focus of this CLE was to encourage attorneys to think like business people. In particular, Tom encouraged the attorneys to follow three steps in generating a business plan. Those steps are the following:
1) Have and understanding of where your business has been over the years and where you want it to go. Have a mission statement for your firm and make sure everyone knows what it is.
2) Plan the infrastructure of your firm. Think about how your firm is set up and what you want to implement in order to grow your firm. As an example if your goal is to have a bookkeeper, write that down and plan for it.
3) Make sure to incorporate basic business concepts into your business. This includes financial analysis and marketing plans. Don’t be afraid to change your plan as conditions warrant. But have a plan!
The reviews of this presentation were very positive. Tom was joined in this presentation by his colleague, noted matrimonial attorney, Gary Port of Port and Sava in Lynbrook (http://www.portandsava.com). Gary spoke of his experience as an officer in the US army. Gary used this experience to market himself to the members of the military. Gary his experience as an example of how the attorneys in attendance need to market their uniqueness as individuals.