THE AUTHORS:
Cécile Roche, Consultant and Head of MCBD Services
Jon Passaro, Executive and Team Coach at Jonathan Passaro Coaching
There is no single “right” way to draft a business plan — except to have one that actually works for you. This article breaks down the drafting process into simple, practical steps, showing how to turn an objective into a clear, flexible roadmap that can evolve with your career and the realities of the legal market.
Business Plan Drafting Basics for Lawyers
If you read our most recent blog piece (Why Every Lawyer Needs a Business Plan), you know that we — a marketing expert (Cécile) and an executive coach (Jon) who spend all day, every day helping lawyers to build and sustain thriving practices — firmly believe that every lawyer, regardless of where they are in their career, should have a business plan. Today, we help you to draft one that will work best for you.
Your Way is the Right Way
The first piece of good news: the only wrong way to go about drafting a business plan is to draft no business plan at all. We have seen nearly as many different models of business plans as we have clients; what is important is that you draft a business plan that works for you. What this means in practical terms is:
- Your business plan contains all of the key information you need;
- When you consult your business plan from time to time (as you should), it is easy for you to read and understand;
- When you show your business plan to others, it is easy for them to read and understand; and
- It is easy to update from time to time.
As long as you follow these golden rules, you get Cécile and Jon’s stamp of approval.
Drafting Your Business Plan in Five Steps
With the above guidelines in mind, it is time to start drafting your business plan. Here are a few simple steps to follow.
Step One: draft a concise, specific overall objective. Where do you want your business plan to take you? The time frame will depend on where you are in your career: younger lawyers might want to set goals for a year or two from now; more senior lawyers might have a five- or ten-year horizon. The goal should be one or two sentences. It might read something like “become recognised as the go-to person on my team for working on quantum issues”; “attract at least five new clients to the firm” or “act as the lead associate on at least two major investment arbitrations, one acting for an investor and one acting for a State.”
Step Two: think about everything you need to do to get there. To think about this, look around you for inspiration: which role models best embody your goal? What did they do to get there? Here are some key factors to consider:
- Skills you need to develop (this includes both legal skills, such as drafting, and non-legal skills, such as foreign language mastery or effective communication with clients);
- Work experience (cases, clients, roles you fill, key colleagues with whom you need to work…);
- Connections you need to make (whom do you need to know, and who needs to know more about you, in order for you to get where you want to go?); and
- Conferences and publications.
As you are thinking about these various milestones, think about how to draft them in such a way that makes them as objectively measurable as possible. The more readily you can express your goal in quantitative terms, the easier it will be to assess your progress.
Step Three: break down these milestones into smaller targets tied to shorter timeframes. Let’s say your business plan is built around a five-year timeframe: we suggest that you break this down into one-year periods. What do you need to have achieved at the end of each year in order to ensure that you are on track to reach your five-year goal? Keep in mind that growth is not necessarily linear: it does not necessarily make sense to break down each goal into milestones of equal measure. For example, if you are a younger partner at a law firm, it is reasonable to expect that you will be slower to bring business into the firm in the early years as you are still building your reputation; it may therefore make sense to have smaller targets at the beginning of your plan, and larger targets in the final years (just be sure that you are not overly optimistic about growth in later years).
Step Four: stress test your business plan: how attainable are your targets? Again, look to role models around you: are these targets in line with what these people have been able to achieve? Even if so, do your targets need to be adjusted up or down in order to take into account differences in your profiles, current conditions in the legal market, or market factors in your key clients’ sectors of activity? What do you project will happen in the future: what changes are foreseeable that you need to take into account when determining whether your goals are reasonable? Does your current employment situation offer you the kinds of opportunities necessary to achieve your goals?
Once you are fairly certain you have thought of everything, share your business plan with trusted friends and colleagues so that they can offer their views on how reasonable your business plan is. What factors can they think of that had not crossed your mind? What changes do they see on the horizon that you had not considered? Try to show it to a few different people with different backgrounds, experiences and areas of expertise, so that you have as wide of a variety of viewpoints as possible.
Step Five: revise your business plan regularly. A business plan does you no good if it lies dormant. You should consult your business plan frequently not only to make sure that you are on track to hit your targets, but also to revise it as necessary. Were you far off the mark when setting your targets? Has a major change just occurred in your firm, your practice area, the region where most of your clients operate, or in the industry of your top clients? Keep your finger on the pulse of market dynamics, and consider whether this warrants a change in your business plan. If you find you are making major revisions to your business plan every time you open it up, take a step back and analyse why, so that you can create a document that better stands the test of time.
As with most things in life, simpler is better—don’t hesitate to start with something basic, and perhaps add a bit more detail as you get more comfortable assessing what you need in order to make it helpful for you. Most importantly, don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Remember, as we said in your previous article, a business plan can be an important tool for reducing stress; if it is having the opposite effect, then take the time to analyse why. A business plan is a living document; it should help you to stay on track, but it shouldn’t feel like a career straitjacket.
Now that we have hopefully taken off some of the pressure and demystified the drafting process somewhat: go ahead and get started — and let us know how you are getting on.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Cécile Roche is a consultant in marketing, communication and business development (MCBD) for the legal industry. After studying law in France and in England, Cécileworked for over ten years in the International Arbitration practice of a Magic Circle law firm in Paris. In 2016, Cécile was awarded an MBA and embraced a career in legal MCBD. She worked at leading business law firms in Paris and Monaco for the next six years. In 2022, she founded MCBD Services, a legal marketing company based in France, where she works as a consultant, putting her skills and experience to the service of French and foreign lawyers working in global markets.
Jon Passaro is the Executive and Team Coach at Jonathan Passaro Coaching, and works with French- and English-speaking lawyers on fast-paced, high-pressure teams around the globe. He works with lawyers at all stages of their careers, on issues ranging from business development to management and leadership. Before starting his coaching practice, he was an associate in the international arbitration practices of two leading international law firms, and then a member of the in-house legal team at the OECD. He has a Professional Certified Coach (“PCC“) credential from the International Coaching Federation (“ICF“) and a JD from Harvard Law School.
*The views and opinions expressed by authors are theirs and do not necessarily reflect those of their organizations, employers, or Daily Jus, Jus Mundi, or Jus Connect.
