My wife and I were talking about a lawyer we knew many years ago when he was new and full of piss and vinegar, and I had been practicing for only a few years. We lost touch with him, but recently heard he had been gravely ill for several years.

He recovered and built a very successful practice with dozens of employees and the wherewithal to purchase his own office building in a swanky part of town. 

From death’s door to massive success. How did he make it big when so many lawyers don’t?

I don’t know. But I can guess. 

Two things, actually. 

First, he was clearly a fighter. Building a successful practice was nothing compared to beating the Grim Reaper. 

But that’s more “why” than “how”. What did he actually do to build his practice? 

Maybe he made a few powerful connections. Ran a series of ads that took off. Or stumbled into that one big case that brought him lots of attention. 

Maybe. But my guess is it was none of those things. My guess is he became successful doing things any lawyer can do. He just did them consistently, something many lawyers don’t. 

He didn’t try to reinvent the wheel. He didn’t change his tactics or chase after new markets every few years. He didn’t change what he did or who he was. He stuck with the basics but did them over and over again, making small improvements and otherwise sticking to his knitting.

Over time, his efforts compounded and his fortunes grew.

That’s all it takes to keep clients happy, generate positive word of mouth, and bring in a steady stream of repeat business and referrals. 

You show up and do the work and your clients and referral sources fall in love with you. 

No shortcuts. No hacks. No surprises.

Just the basics. 

That’s all any lawyer needs to make it big. With or without surviving a terminal illness. 

We all know lawyers who are good at their job but never seem to get ahead. They’re intelligent, work hard, and get good results for their clients, but success (at least financial success) eludes them. 

Paradoxically, their lack of success might stem from the very attributes that make them a good lawyer. 

Good lawyers are risk averse. They don’t want their clients to take chances and sustain losses and advise them accordingly. Unfortunately, they almost always adopt the same standards for themselves. 

They’re careful to a fault. They don’t try new marketing ideas or different ways to manage their practice. They don’t experiment, test out new ideas, or do anything they haven’t done before. 

Or that other attorneys are already doing.

They avoid doing things unless they see proof they will work. Failure is not an option.

And that’s the problem. 

The only way to be more successful is to increase our rate of failure.

The missing element? Feedback. Failure is feedback, and without it, you don’t know what works or gain insights into what might work better. 

If you want feedback, you have to take the chance. 

When you do, there are three possible outcomes: 

1. It works. You get a good result, you’re happy and encouraged to do more.
2. It doesn’t work. But you do it again, make changes, and keep at it until you eventually find the solution.
3. It never works. You see this and learn from it and can use what you learn with your next idea.

Everything we do gives us feedback, which we miss if we don’t risk failure.

When I started practicing, I volunteered at a legal clinic, speaking with indigent clients. I didn’t get many cases or clients and earned next to nothing. 

But the experience was invaluable. 

I learned how to diagnose legal problems, how to talk to clients, and how to give them hope, even if I was not able to help them. 

I learned things about being a lawyer I didn’t learn in law school and used that experience to build my practice. 

Failure leads to feedback, and feedback leads to success. The only way to be more successful is to increase our rate of failure.