Growth Isn’t a Goal — It’s a Math Equation (And Most Firms Get the Math Wrong)
Law firms talk about growth emotionally.
More clients. More matters. More revenue. More “momentum.”
But growth is mathematical.
If you don’t understand your firm’s:
capacity
cost-to-serve
margin
utilization
overhead scaling
…then growth will hurt more than it helps.
And that’s how firms end up with a confusing reality:
Revenue increases. Profit disappears.
Why Growth Breaks Law Firms
Growth doesn’t break firms because demand is bad.
It breaks firms because the firm expands faster than its ability to deliver work profitably.
Here’s what that looks like in real life:
overhead grows faster than revenue
hiring lags demand (or happens too late)
systems don’t scale, so work slows down
leadership bandwidth collapses, so decisions stall
partners become the “glue” holding everything together
So the firm grows — but the experience gets worse.
Clients feel it. Teams feel it. Partners feel it.
And profit quietly leaks out through inefficiency, rework, write-offs, and reactive hiring.
The Growth Math Most Firms Ignore
Before scaling, firms need to answer some unsexy questions.
Not “Are we getting more leads?”
But:
How many matters can we actually handle at our current staffing levels?
At what margin?
With which roles doing which work?
Under what workload assumptions (billable targets, non-billable load, admin time)?
What happens if one key person is out for two weeks?
Without those answers, growth is gambling.
Because you’re essentially saying:
“Let’s increase volume and hope the system holds.”
Step 1: Capacity Is Not “How Busy People Feel”
In most firms, “capacity” is based on gut feel.
But actual capacity is based on time + roles + workflow.
A simple way to think about it:
What work must be done in each matter? (your workflow)
Which roles do each part? (your staffing model)
How much time does each step take? (time assumptions)
What’s the realistic weekly availability for each role? (capacity)
Important: availability is not 40 hours.
Everyone has non-billable drag:
internal meetings
admin tasks
training/coaching
interruptions
client communications
context switching
If you don’t build those realities into your assumptions, your “capacity model” becomes fantasy.
Step 2: Cost-to-Serve Is Usually Higher Than Firms Think
Many firms price services based on:
what competitors charge
what they charged last year
what they think it costs
what the client is willing to pay
But cost-to-serve is the real determinant of profitable growth.
Cost-to-serve includes:
attorney time (billable + non-billable)
paralegal and admin time
intake time (even for non-clients)
revision and rework time
billing and collections time
management oversight time
tech stack and tools
overhead allocation (rent, insurance, subscriptions, etc.)
If your cost-to-serve is unknown, you can’t confidently answer:
Which matters are profitable?
Which practice areas scale cleanly?
Which client types drain the firm?
This is where growth becomes dangerous: you scale the wrong work.
Step 3: Utilization Drives Margin (Even When Revenue Is Up)
Utilization isn’t just a “billable hours” metric.
It’s a signal of whether your team is spending time in the highest-value work or getting swallowed by operational drag.
When growth happens without structure:
attorneys do admin work
partners do “quick fixes” constantly
paralegals get blocked waiting for direction
work bounces back and forth, creating hidden rework
Result:
hours go up
write-offs go up
realization drops
margin shrinks
cash flow gets tighter
So even as the firm “grows,” the financial reality gets worse.
Step 4: Overhead Scaling Is a Trap If You Don’t Plan It
Overhead scaling is where many firms quietly lose profitability.
Because growth often triggers:
new hires
higher payroll + benefits
office space needs
more software subscriptions
outsourced support
marketing spend
higher insurance and admin costs
If those costs increase before revenue becomes consistent, your overhead ratio spikes.
That’s how you end up with a bigger firm and less profit.
The fix is not “don’t invest.”
The fix is sequence the investment based on the math.
What Predictable Growth Actually Looks Like
Sustainable growth is not “more of everything.”
It’s more of the right work, delivered through the right structure, at the right pace.
Predictable growth requires:
a defined service delivery model
clear staffing ratios by practice area
documented workflows
capacity plans tied to lead flow
hiring triggers (not feelings)
weekly and monthly metrics that show strain early
This is how firms scale without breaking quality or burning out leadership.
How COOs Make Growth Predictable
This is exactly where a COO (or Fractional COO) changes the trajectory.
COOs:
model capacity by role (what the firm can actually deliver)
analyze true cost-to-serve (what the work truly costs)
align staffing with demand (hiring at the right time)
sequence growth intentionally (what gets built first, second, third)
install metrics before expansion (so the firm can course-correct early)
Growth becomes planned — not reactive.
And the firm stops relying on partner heroics to survive success.
A Simple “Growth Readiness” Self-Check
If you’re scaling, you should be able to answer these without guessing:
What’s our current capacity by role for the next 30–60 days?
Which matters/practice areas have the strongest margin?
What’s our average cost-to-serve per matter type?
What are our hiring triggers (volume, hours, backlog, turnaround time)?
What leading metrics tell us we’re approaching strain (before it’s a crisis)?
If those answers aren’t clear, growth will feel chaotic — because it is.
If growth feels chaotic instead of strategic, the math is likely wrong.
I help law firms build growth models grounded in real capacity and financial data — so growth strengthens the firm instead of straining it.