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From Good to Great: How Law Firms Achieve Best-in-Class Profitability

By Gary Allen
April 30, 2025

Some things you never forget. Like the Saturday in 1993 when the managing partner called and told me the firm was shutting down — I no longer had a job. I looked at our six-month-old son and wondered how we would feed him. A few years before, I had survived a similar implosion at another firm. Both closures were caused by bad management, plain and simple.

After the second blow-up, I was fortunate to land at an exceptionally well-run firm. That’s where I learned what makes a law firm a best-in-class financial performer — and how to make my own practice more successful and enjoyable. This article boils down those learnings into simple principles any small to midsize law firm can use to improve performance.

Let’s start with what best-in-class performance means, and then walk through how to get there — by focusing on efficient processes, productive people, and a strong product-market fit.

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