In this blog, we feature insights from best-selling author and Detroit personal injury attorney, Mike Morse, who explains the essential strategies to fortify your contingency fee law firm.

As a trial lawyer running a contingency fee practice, merely being a good attorney is not enough to build a successful, sustainable business. You need to adopt systems, processes, and a team-based approach to make your firm “fireproof” — able to withstand any curveball or crisis that comes your way.

Is Your Law Firm Fireproof?

This is the key message from Mike Morse, founder of the largest personal injury firm in Michigan, Mike Morse Law Firm, and author of the book Fireproof. Mike emphasizes that being “fireproof” means “getting yourself into a space where no matter what happens, you’ll be okay.” Even if disasters strike like his office burning down, his biggest referral source cutting ties, or employees walking out with cases, a fireproof firm can “take a punch in the face and keep going.”

The foundation is following the essential strategies and “tenants of the Fireproof model” — having the right teams, structures, and processes in place. This allows the firm to keep operating seamlessly when crises hit. As Mike puts it, “If you’re fireproof, bad things are just minor annoyances you have to deal with.”

Leveraging the Value of a Coach

A critical component to “fireproofing” your law firm is being willing to ask for help by hiring a coach. Just as top athletes have coaches who push them to grow, share strategies for overcoming common challenges, and provide a sounding board to work through new ideas, law firm owners should also take on a coach to help them navigate the business challenges they come up against. Mike admits trying to reinvent the wheel on his own at first, but finally realized “it makes no sense not to have a coach” who can impart proven systems. He calls hiring his first coach “the greatest day of my life — I had 50% of the burden lifted off my shoulders.”

Mike’s journey shows that while running a successful contingency firm is tough, you don’t have to go it alone. By putting the right leadership teams and processes in place, and not being afraid to get outside expertise, you can build a future-proof law firm business that’s able to power through any adversity that comes your way.

Watch the video above, featuring Mike Morse, to gain further insights about essential strategies and how trial lawyers can Fireproof their law firm.