Page 61 - Strategic Planning for Law Firms

Strategic Planning for Law Firms
Analyze the Firm’s Data
Your strategic planning team has to study all the firm’s data – its key documents, its financials, its client lists, the survey results, etc. You need to survey the battlefield and gather and analyze the relevant data.
Analyze the Firm’s Questionnaire Responses
Study the firm’s survey responses and look for patterns, overlapping concerns and common issues. If 80% of the participants raise an issue, and strongly recommend it be addressed, it probably is a real issue that needs to be addressed. Consider using excel spreadsheets or charts or another method to gather, sort and analyze the responses.
Perform a SWOT Analysis
SWOT stands for “Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.” Through your surveys and through internal dialogue, determine your firm’s strengths and weaknesses and the opportunities and threats it faces. This basic, straightforward
analysis is quite helpful in developing goals for your firm. This can be done via the surveys, or it may be the basis for a mini-retreat at the beginning of a planning process.
Review the Firm’s Key Documents
All the firm’s key documents need to be gathered and reviewed. Due to their confidential nature, you need to decide who will review them and what information to share from them. But these documents establish how your firm operates and they need to be evaluated to decide whether firm operations will be changed.
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SECTION 09 THE PLANNING PROCESS