If your firm isn’t effectively managing its attorneys’ time, it risks falling behind the competition. At Xcelerator, we’ve observed that the most successful firms aren’t necessarily those whose lawyers work the most hours, but those who strategically structure their time.
Whether your firm’s attorneys handle pre-litigation cases exclusively or juggle complex litigation matters, implementing thoughtful time management strategies can transform your firm’s bottom line. In this blog post, we share some tips on how to make this happen.
Schedule Daily Team Check-ins
The most important time management practice we recommend is having your attorneys establish non-negotiable daily check-ins with case managers and paralegals. These brief but focused sessions (typically 15-30 minutes) help align everyone’s goals and prevent costly miscommunications.
During these check-ins, your attorneys should:
- Review top priorities for the day
- Discuss pending demands and deadlines
- Address questions about specific client matters
- Review new cases
- Ask “What can I do to make your life easier today?”
That final, simple question often reveals bottlenecks that can save hours of frustration later.
Structure the Week Strategically
While each day requires flexibility and follow-up, your attorneys should designate specific focuses for different days of the week. This creates rhythm and ensures critical activities don’t slip through the cracks.
Consider this sample framework:
- Mondays: “Move the Needle Day” – Focus on preparing and reviewing demands.
- Tuesdays: “Hit List Day” – Call adjusters on outstanding demands and negotiate settlements.
- Wednesdays: “Working for the Future” – Review fees outstanding and litigation candidates.
- Thursdays: “Attorney Meetings” – Strategize together for challenging cases and conduct file reviews.
- Fridays: “Disbursement Day” – Ensure all cases ready for deposit are processed.
This structured approach ensures that essential activities receive dedicated attention, rather than being constantly deferred in favor of “urgent” but less valuable tasks.
Balance Structure with Flexibility
For litigation attorneys, rigid schedules often collapse in the face of hearings, depositions, mediations, doctor conferences, and trials. However, this doesn’t mean abandoning structure entirely.
Advise your attorneys to establish protected time blocks for essential daily activities including email management and team check-ins. Then build flexibility around litigation demands. When possible, they should try to cluster similar activities to create more predictable patterns. For example:
- Dedicate Tuesday and Thursday afternoons to depositions
- Schedule doctor conferences on specific days each week
- Group client intake calls during certain time blocks
- Reserve uninterrupted time for drafting and reviewing documents
Remember that even partial implementation of structured time blocks will yield benefits compared to a completely reactive approach to the calendar.
Prioritize Challenging Tasks Early
It’s also a good idea for your attorneys to consistently tackle their most challenging tasks early in the day. Whether it’s a difficult client conversation or case evaluation for litigation, handling these tasks when their mental energy is highest yields multiple benefits:
- Higher quality work product
- Reduced psychological burden throughout the day
- Greater momentum for subsequent tasks
One phrase to keep in mind is: “Confront the chaos voluntarily.” By choosing to address difficult tasks proactively, your lawyers can maintain control rather than feeling perpetually reactive.
Regularly Revitalize Your Team’s Processes
Even the best time management system becomes less effective over time if not periodically refreshed. Schedule occasional reviews of your lawyers’ time management practices to identify:
- Which activities consistently get pushed aside
- Where bottlenecks regularly occur
- Which parts of your lawyers’ schedules create the most stress
Use these insights to adjust your team’s approach, experimenting with new efficiencies.
Offer Grace and Reminders to Practice Self-Compassion
Finally, remember that perfect adherence to any time management system is impossible in legal practice. Emergencies arise, priorities shift, and some days simply don’t go as planned.
Extend grace to your team when things aren’t completed as scheduled. The goal isn’t perfection but progress—it might not have gotten done today, but it will get done.
Transform Your Firm’s Productivity with Xcelerator
At Xcelerator, we help personal injury firms work smarter through customized time management frameworks that align with their specific practice areas, attorney work styles, and business goals. We understand the unique challenges of personal injury practice and provide practical, implementable solutions rather than one-size-fits-all approaches.
Don’t let ineffective time management limit your firm’s potential. Contact Xcelerator today to learn how we can help.
