The Business of Law

About Adam

Adam has been a lawyer for 27 years, mainly practicing corporate law. He founded Rose Law Firm 10 years ago and has been a Hire an Esquire user for 9 of those 10 years.

Key Tips from this Interview

• When you first start your firm, identify what kind of law firm you want to be. What type of client/industry will your firm serve? Who will your audience be?
• Before making the jump from an established firm as an associate/partner, be sure that you are set up before making the move. Take the time while still employed elsewhere to set yourself up financially, map out your business model, and think about how you will run your firm.
• Once you’ve identified what kind of law firm you are building, seek out affinity business groups that specialize in your field/industry. This will help you build a network of support that will be unique to your practice.
• When hiring look for people who are “hungry, humble, and smart”.
• Emphasize with your first hires that everyone at the firm will need to wear multiple hats and have a “do what it takes” attitude to help get the firm off the ground.
• Once a firm reaches a certain size, it’s necessary to have someone whose sole role is to manage and run the law firm.
• Use alternative fee arrangements judiciously. AFAs do not work well with custom problems and custom solutions. They are more appropriate for offering similar work to multiple clients and the variations are fairly predictable.
• AI may expand the scenarios in which AFAs will be effective because AI can make attorneys more efficient and effective when used wisely.
• Lawyers who use artificial intelligence well will replace lawyers who don’t. But, you must research and understand the confidentiality and accuracy concerns and then proceed with the proper guardrails to be relevant.
• Lawyers are trained on due diligence, they should use those skills to double check AI and make sure that it’s helping you be more efficient but not creating your final product.
• Adam has used the Hire an Esquire platform to hire contract attorneys to serve clients all over the country and grow his firm. Finding quality contract talent who can handle niche experience and then securing the client work allows him to grow the firm without creating a lot of overhead.
• When hiring, define what you truly need from your hires and be upfront with applicants about exactly what you need and expect.

Recommended Reading/Listening from Adam Rose

Traction by Gino Wickman

Author and Podcaster Patrick Lencioni

About James

James Goodnow is the CEO of Fennemore, an Am Law 200 firm with approximately 700 legal professionals in 20 offices across the U.S. When he assumed his current role in 2018, he was 36 years old and the youngest known CEO of a major law firm in U.S. history.

Key Tips from this Interview

• Think carefully about starting your own firm and hanging your own shingle. It’s estimated that the admin side of running your own firm is 50% of your time. Do you like accounting? Do you like dealing with HR issues? Are you a marketer? 
• Make sure to build into your financial plan the time that will be dedicated to non-billable work and make sure the numbers make sense before you jump. 
• How you market your firm depends on your audience. You need to really understand who you want to reach so that you can tailor your approach to that audience. 
• AI search optimization is the bleeding edge of digital marketing and can provide a leg up for firms who are adapting quickly to this changing reality. 
• Fennemore is implementing an AI initiative called Project Blue Wave AI within their own firm
• AI is changing the delivery of legal services, how we access information, and how employees work.
• AI will make attorneys more efficient will reduce billable hours, and law firms will need to create alternative fee arrangements in order to create a sustainable business model
• Fennemore is using AI to help employees access information across multiple platforms and applications.
• Training attorneys to use AI helps them become more efficient “super workers”, giving them the time and opportunity to learn and adapt to this new way of working.
• When hiring, you want to find people who share your vision for the future.
• If you are a law firm leader, find mentors that you trust with skill sets that you need to develop. 

Recommended Reading/Listening from James Goodnow

Blue Ocean Strategy by Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne 

Read more about James and Fennemore in our interview from 2018.

About Dan

Dan is the Founding Partner and Lead Trial Attorney of McEldrew Purtell, a growing plaintiff-side litigation firm in Philadelphia, PA. Dan was also recognized in the 2025 Lawdragon 500 Leading Plaintiff Consumer lawyers guide. He joined the firm when it started 15 years ago and has helped it grow into what it is today.

Key Tips from this Interview

• Starting at a firm in its infancy, or starting it yourself from seed, gives you invaluable insights into every aspect of the firm’s work. Don’t underestimate the value of establishing these foundational skills. For Dan this meant understanding the full lifecycle of a case from intake all the way through settlement.
• Creating a hybrid work schedule where the emphasis is on getting the work done and exceptional work product, rather than being overly rigid with work hours, has “100% been a competitive advantage” for hiring and retaining top talent.
• When it comes to running a business like a law firm, “DIY” is not always feasible or sustainable. Getting the right people to take care of the hiring, accounting, and other business aspects for your firm can save you a lot of time and stress. 
• “Learn to let go”. You need a staff of professionals to make your firm run smoothly. The more you can focus on your firm’s cases, the better. Let the people you’ve hired take the lead on other avenues.
• A successful marketing strategy is the strategy that is customized to your practice. For McEldrew Purtell this means more old-fashioned networking and developing interpersonal connections to other law firms. For other firms it may be more about billboards and digital advertising.
• When it comes to legal hiring “trust the professionals”. Dan discusses how he realized that hiring is not one of his core skillsets and that the firm was really able to take off when he accepted that he needed a hiring professional on his side to help him get the right talent in place.