The Operations Hat.
Workflows, handoffs, waiting points, process consistency, and operating design.
Quality depends on who handles the work, while recurring failures are resolved through heroics.
The firm depends on folklore, workarounds, individual memory, and heroic intervention.
- Named process ownership
- Documented workflows
- Measures
- Authority
- Protected improvement time
Killing the three biggest admin drains
Where fee-earner time really goes — and the sequence to reclaim it that doesn't require new software.
Get matter visibility in 30 daysSign up to read →
From 'I don't know where the work is' to a live view of every open matter, owner, and status.
Running a weekly matter reviewSign up to read →
The half-hour meeting that catches dropped matters and renegotiates priorities.
Building a simple matter management systemSign up to read →
Without buying software. Status, owner, milestones, and a working review cadence.
Matter audit sheetSign up to read →
Not a replacement for PM software — a diagnostic. Pull every active matter into one sheet to surface what your tool isn't showing, run the weekly review, or bridge the smallest firms before they buy software.
Matter duration benchmarksSign up to read →
Median and upper quartile for common matter types — and the three places duration usually leaks.
Matter closure disciplineSign up to read →
How to make sure closed matters actually close — fees collected, files archived, CRM updated.
Matter status taxonomySign up to read →
The six statuses you actually need. No more, no less.
Matter closure checklistSign up to read →
What to do before a matter leaves the active pipeline.
Active matters per fee earnerSign up to read →
Healthy workload vs. overflow, by seniority and practice area.
Killing the three biggest admin drains→
Where fee-earner time really goes — and the sequence to reclaim it that doesn't require new software.
Standardising the five most repeated jobsSign up to read →
The week-long exercise that turns ad-hoc work into documented, delegable steps.
SOP templateSign up to read →
Eight-section, two-page format. Objective, trigger, steps, owner, handoff, exception, instrumentation.
Admin vs fee-earner timeSign up to read →
How much of a fee-earner's day goes to non-billable admin at small firms.
Strategy
Direction, deliberate choices, priorities, and what the firm will decline.
Commercial
Understanding how the firm makes, loses, and leaks money.
People
Performance, behaviour, wellbeing, development, supervision, and exits.
Culture
The behaviours the firm repeatedly permits and therefore teaches others to copy.
Technology
The behavioural and process change surrounding technology, not merely procurement.
Client Experience
The consistency, clarity, responsiveness, and confidence experienced by clients.
Compliance & Risk
The living connection between formal policy and actual behaviour under pressure.
New Business
Where the next client comes from — marketing, referrals, enquiries, and proposals.
We also run Techsperience (legal-tech support) and Clearmatter (matter management). Mostly we write. Learn more →