In Part 5 of our blog series “How Can Your Firm Experience Growth”, we focus on the importance of capital in expanding your law firm into new geographies or practice areas.

Finding the Right Path for Law Firm Growth

It may seem like a lofty goal when you first establish your law firm to think about opening multiple locations, but it’s an important way to create growth once your firm becomes a leader in your current location.

For contingency fee law firms, growth can follow a number of paths. For starters, it can involve building out a presence in other regions within a state. Law firm growth can also consist of exploring other geographic areas, crossing into new states and building a national presence.

It can also represent broadening a firm’s reach into new practice areas, such as mass torts. Whatever path your law firm may pursue, you can take advantage of new opportunities, increase your market share, and generate more revenue.

For Atlas Consumer Law, having access to financing helped the firm energize its exponential growth – they expanded from 5 to 17 states, and increased month-over-month cases filed by more than 100 percent.

Financing Geographic Expansion and Operations: Atlas Consumer Law

Broadening your geographic footprint, though, requires critical funding to invest in marketing initiatives, office space, support operations, and lawyer salaries.

For Illinois-based Atlas Consumer Law, having access to financing helped the firm fuel its exponential growth—more than tripling their geographic area, and increasing by 100% month-over-month case filings. Now that’s succeeding boldly.

Prior to partnering with Esquire Bank, Atlas Consumer Law self-financed its case costs and found, as many contingency fee law firms do, that the drag on liquidity was stunting the firm’s growth.

Through access to case cost line of credit facilities, the firm invested in building a high-tech, industry-leading call center. Leveraging case management technology, the firm was able to significantly boost staff productivity and case volume – setting the stage for a record number of consumer protection case filings.

For Florida-based Ged Lawyers, geographic expansion took the form of expanding into the Florida panhandle and reaching into Massachusetts.

Considering New Practice Areas

While expanding your firm into new geographic locations is a smart move, there are other considerations a firm should contemplate for law firm growth—perhaps scenarios like growing beyond your current practice area to take advantage of lucrative opportunities.

Mick Grewal, president & CEO of Grewal Law, saw a strong opportunity to move into mass torts and increase earnings. But financing was critical to making the growth happen on a national level – presenting a challenge that would cause Mick Grewal to pursue financing for case disbursements so he could free up capital for investment in growth initiatives.

“Working with Esquire Bank has allowed us to take our practice to the next level, specifically in the mass tort field,” noted Grewal. “We’ve been able to take on the Roundup cases, 3M earplug cases, and now we’re getting involved in the CPAP litigation. And in order to do that, we needed the additional resources that Esquire Bank can provide.”

Leveraging a working capital line of credit for day-to-day needs, and a case cost line of credit to use for efforts in the mass tort area, Grewal Law invested in the marketing, operations and technology initiatives it needed to successfully pursue mass tort cases.

The proof is in the numbers: the firm nearly tripled the number of attorneys and employees on staff, and also realized a revenue increase of 162% over a three-year period.

Law Firm Growth by Acquisition

Moving into new practice areas can also happen by acquiring senior attorneys (and, in some cases, entire firms run by senior attorneys) with experience in a practice area new to your firm. Such professionals can bring the expertise and client list you need to be up and running in that area almost immediately.

Again, the key to achieving these acquisitions, or to expanding your law firm, requires choosing the right, flexible financing solutions. Capital – and more importantly access to capital – is the key to scaling law firm growth. Affording the staff, space, marketing, and technology required for expansion and growth takes a thoughtful and considered approach – one that makes sense for your law firm.

How Did They Do it?

Want to read more about how successful plaintiffs law firms like Atlas Consumer Law are experiencing bold growth through a case cost line of credit, and learn how your firm can capture new opportunities?

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Read More Blogs from Our Experiencing Growth Series

Next in Part 6, the final blog in our Experiencing Exponential Growth series, you’ll learn about “Modernizing Your Law Firm Through Technology”, and how it helped Atlas Consumer Law create bold growth.

Read Part 6: Modernizing Your Law Firm Through Technology

Meet with Esquire Bank

Learn how your law firm can finance its case costs and free up capital to invest in marketing, technology, talent, operations, case acquisition, and growth. Schedule a no-obligation consultation with an Esquire Bank Business Development Officer today at a time convenient to your schedule.

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Looking to Learn More About Law Firm Growth Strategies?

Download the eBook now, “5 Best Practices from Law Firms That Are Growing and Succeeding Boldly,” to get your hands on our top strategies for achieving exponential growth.

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* The information provided on (or accessed through) this blog is provided for general informational purposes only and is not intended as, and should not be relied on for, law firm operations, tax, legal or accounting advice. Some of the information may not be applicable or appropriate for all law firms. Please consult your own tax, legal and accounting advisors as appropriate. Results may vary by law firm.