Even
during
boom
times,
economic
challenges
may
be
lurking
around
the
corner.
That’s
why
it’s
critical
for
law
firms
to
position
themselves
for
long-term
success
by
building
economic
resilience.
Doing
so
means
strengthening
your
firm’s
fundamentals
while
always
being
aware
of
what
could
be
coming
next.
“Just
because
you
have
your
books
and
you
get
your
financials,
that’s
just
a
report
of
what
has
happened,”
says
Kelley
Brubaker,
a
fractional
CFO
and
host
of
the
“Your
Profitable
Law
Firm
Podcast.”
“It’s
like
you’re
driving
in
the
car
and
you’re
looking
in
the
rearview
mirror.
But
your
focus
has
to
be
on
the
windshield,
on
what’s
coming
in
the
future.”
Kelley
participated
in
a
recent
webinar
titled
“Economic
Resilience
in
Action
–
Helping
Law
Firms
Thrive
in
2025
and
Beyond,”
joined
by
Kimberly
Bennett
of
Fidu
and
Scott
Berry
of
MarketCrest.
You
can
register
to
view
their
conversation
here,
and
read
on
for
select
steps
to
ensure
your
firm
has
a
strong
economic
foundation,
based
on
Kelley’s
recent
writings
and
webinar
appearances.
Think
Linearly
Metrics
like
billable
hours
and
revenue,
while
important,
won’t
give
you
the
full
picture
of
financial
health
and
resilience.
When
Kelley
works
with
a
client
to
determine
their
KPIs,
she
matches
the
metrics
they
track
to
their
goals
for
the
firm.
Each
practice
is
different,
she
notes,
and
therefore
she
would
expect
five
different
firms
to
each
have
their
own
unique
KPIs
to
track.
Kelley
advises
firms
to
organize
their
metrics
based
on
information
about
the
past,
present,
and
future.
Items
like
your
P&L
and
revenue
reflect
past
performance,
while
the
present
is
reflected
in
metrics
like
your
bank
balance.
The
future
metrics
include
things
like
incoming
leads.
“How
many
leads
do
you
have
coming
in
every
day
or
every
week?”
Kelley
says.
“Based
on
your
funnel,
what’s
been
your
history?
If
you
get
a
hundred
people
who
call
you,
how
many
actually
schedule
an
appointment
from
there?
How
many
actually
show
up
to
the
appointments?
And
then
how
many
hire
you?”
Don’t
(Just)
Cut
Costs
Kelley
notes
that
a
firm
that
focuses
on
its
profit
and
loss
may
just
start
slashing
expenses
to
boost
profitability.
Doing
so
can
create
new
sets
of
problems,
though,
such
as
worsened
morale
or
difficult
client
experiences.
She
urges
law
firms
to
ask
themselves
how
they
can
spend
more
effectively,
not
how
they
can
simply
lower
costs.
For
example,
she
says,
rather
than
firing
an
administrative
employee
who
saves
you
10
hours
per
week,
consider
reallocating
their
time
to
higher
ROI
tasks.
“Smart
spending
is
about
alignment,
not
discipline,”
she
says.
Regularly
Audit
Your
Subscriptions
Kelley
notes
that
auto-renewing
subscriptions
to
software
and
services
can
quickly
add
up
in
law
firms
to
form
a
major
expense.
She
recommends
you
perform
a
subscription
audit
every
six
months
(at
least).
Review
factors
like
the
task
it
accomplishes,
who
uses
it,
and
whether
it
duplicates
another
service.
“Be
cautious
of
free
trials
that
turn
into
auto-billed
subscriptions,”
she
says.
Consider
What
8am
Has
to
Offer
If
you’re
using
8am
MyCase
as
your
law
practice
management
system,
Kelley
says,
you
already
have
a
solution
that
can
help
you
manage
expenses
more
efficiently.
Here
are
a
few
features
that
support
better
spend
management,
as
shared
by
Kelley:
•
MyCase
Accounting:
Track
expenses
by
matter
or
category,
link
bank
accounts,
and
reconcile
monthly
to
ensure
clean
data.
•
Integrated
time
and
billing:
Compare
expenses
against
case
revenue
to
ensure
profitability
by
matter.
•
Smart
Spend:
With
optional
free,
add-on
software,
easily
track
every
dollar
spent
in
real
time
and
gain
financial
clarity
into
your
cashflows,
using
a
credit
card
that
integrates
with
expense
and
invoicing
tools
in
MyCase.
•
Bonus
tip:
Smart
Spend
will
reduce
a
large
portion
of
your
profit
leakage
by
capturing
advanced
client
costs
in
real
time
and
automatically
adding
them
to
the
next
invoice
issued
to
the
client.
Efficiently
billing
100%
of
your
client’s
advanced
costs
as
soon
as
possible…that’s
solving
a
huge
pain
point
for
many
firms.
Kelley
Brubaker
participated
in
a
recent
webinar
titled
“Economic
Resilience
in
Action
–
Helping
Law
Firms
Thrive
in
2025
and
Beyond,”
joined
by
Kimberly
Bennett
of
Fidu
and
Scott
Berry
of
MarketCrest.
You
can
view
their
conversation
here.