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You can thank California for this terrible UX.

Field Research

46 tips for starting a firm—plus 19 more for new lawyers and law students

I walked into over 100 law firms; ended up in real conversations with 38—some of them out-of-state lawyers that saw the story on LinkedIn. What they told me? 46 tips on starting your own firm, 11 on the practice itself, and 8 for newer lawyers and law students. Fill out the info below to download it.

Your details come straight to me. I don't rent or sell lists.

Brandon Pritchard
Brandon Scott Pritchard Fractional Law Firm CMO & COO
Brandon Pritchard
Brandon Scott Pritchard Fractional Law Firm CMO & COO
Improve Your Profitability
Brandon Pritchard
Fractional Law Firm CMO & COO

Brandon Scott Pritchard

Profit-first Law Firm Marketing & Operations Leadership.

Salt Lake City Metro · brandon@pritchard.works · (254) 718-7415
$26MM+revenue driven in in-house positions
1296%overall ROI on marketing investments
667%total firm revenue growth
1,900%web traffic growth — 40K+ monthly visitors
About

One person. Both seats. Real firm experience.

Most law firms can't justify a full-time CMO and a full-time COO—but they feel the absence of both. I fill that gap. For nearly a decade I ran the business side of a growing, multi-office law firm, taking it from a single office to four and from a one-person business unit to a full operations organization supporting more than a dozen attorneys and nearly fifteen hundred open cases.

I'm a data-driven operator: I build the growth engine (marketing plan with accompanying channel-specific strategies) and the machine behind it (workflows, KPIs, financial visibility, team structure) so the two actually work together.

My goal is simple: identify your highest-leverage growth opportunities and set you on the path to achieve that growth as quickly as possible. I save you money by planning to be involved as much as needed—but as little as possible.

How It Works

Plan first. Spend second.

Engagements start with a discussion about your goals, an initial audit that surfaces inefficiencies across your firm, and then a plan identifying the levers to pull for more profit.

STEP 1

Identify Goals & Problems

We jump on a call and determine your firm's goals. Are you looking to increase revenue, improve client retention, or expand your practice areas? We also discuss problems you're facing and any constraints you have.

STEP 2

Initial Audit

I assess your firm through a series of questions: marketing, intake, workflows, finances, customer experience, tech stack & systems integration. I identify leaking profits and growth opportunities. This initial audit is not in-depth, but it gives us a solid foundation for the next steps.

STEP 3

Determine Scope & Quote

I map out my suggestions for work to complete that will "move the needle" as fast as possible. On the operations side, that includes up to a full operational audit as well as an implementation plan moving forward. On the marketing side, that includes up to a full marketing plan—if appropriate—or a "quick-and-dirty" series of steps and strategies to generate the revenue you need.

STEP 4

Make Key Changes & Identify Key Staff or Connections

I implement the key changes identified in the previous steps and help you identify the key staff or connections needed to support these changes.

STEP 5

Train Your Team

I train your team on any process or systems updates, and ensure they have the skills and knowledge to maintain the improvements.

STEP 6

Monitor & Optimize

I monitor the implementation of the changes and optimize them over time to ensure they continue to drive results, for as long as you need.

What I Do

Two functions, one profit engine

As your Fractional CMO

Your main overall marketing plan*, built for your firm's actual practice areas and case preferences.
  • Identify your specific growth goals—more revenue, X new cases, etc.
  • Identify your top 2-3 Ideal Client Profiles (per practice area)
  • Conduct a thorough Competitive Analysis: what are your competitors doing, and where is there room to differentiate?
  • Identify your unique competitive advantages and possible advantages to develop to be different in your market.
  • Perform a Gap Analysis on your current marketing efforts—what should you continue, what should you stop, and what should you start?
  • Create messaging matrices that resonate with your ideal clients for use in your marketing materials.
  • Develop channel-specific strategies—both digital and traditional—and timelines for implementation, including vendor management or in-house team development.
  • Implement a robust reporting and analytics framework to track performance and inform strategic decisions.
  • Train your team on reporting and analytics so they can make data-driven decisions.

*Full marketing plans might not be the best option for your firm; I adjust accordingly.

As your Fractional COO

Operational and financial clarity, then a plan* that scales with your firm.
  • Identify your specific operational goals—higher margin, more capacity, faster cash conversion, reduced risk, etc.
  • Establish a baseline of current operational and financial KPIs—realization, collections, billing cycle, overhead, utilization.
  • Conduct a thorough Operational Audit—371 checkpoints across eight domains: Strategy, Finance, Workflow, People, Client Experience, Business Development, Risk, and Technology & AI.
  • Benchmark against peer firms and identify the firm's structural advantages and operational constraints.
  • Perform a Gap Analysis on current operations—what to continue, what to stop, and what to start.
  • Build a prioritization matrix that scores each finding by impact, effort, and risk severity.
  • Develop a phased implementation roadmap with owners, timelines, and vendor or in-house team development.
  • Implement a KPI dashboard and reporting cadence to track performance against targets.
  • Train your team on the dashboards, cadence, and SOPs so improvements are sustained and decisions stay data-driven.

*Not all firms need a full plan—just next steps; I adjust accordingly.

Track Record

Where the numbers come from

BP Attorneys at Law — Head of Business Operations & EOS Integrator

Killeen / Temple / Waco / Round Rock, TX · 2017–2026 (Business Ops lead 2022–2026)

Ran every non-attorney function in the firm — marketing, intake, client care, paralegals, file room, finance, billing & collections, HR — a team of 37 supporting 14 attorneys. Led the firm's EOS adoption as Integrator and led out on opening offices two through four.

  • Marketing & sales strategy drove $26MM+ in revenue over 8 years (2100%+ ROI on incremental spend; 1296% ROI on all marketing spend)
  • Consistent YoY growth in leads and sales, culminating in 667% total revenue growth
  • Championed tech modernization: real-time financial tracking, corporate card program, custom in-house software

BP Attorneys at Law — Director of Marketing Communications & Strategy

2018–2022 · previously Social Media Manager, 2017–2018

Grew from managing social media into owning the firm's entire marketing spectrum — paid ads, radio, website, SEO, and PPC. Built a Python-based analysis engine across thousands of posts to tune organic strategy; ran social at $31 CPL, $124 CPA, and 30× ROAS.

New Company Launch — Head of Business Operations

Central Texas · 2020–2024

Built a brand-new company from the ground up as part of the founding management team: brand, websites, paid advertising, inbound sales process, CRM and lead-generation systems, plus physical buildout and construction management. Drove $400K in revenue in the first year of operation.

Overt Foundation — Volunteer Director of Revenue & Contributions

Lehi, UT · 2020–2023

Led marketing and revenue strategy for a mental-health nonprofit — all organic, no paid budget, which demands the most creative kind of growth work.

Schedule a Call

Your First Step to Streamlined Operations & More Effective Marketing

Ready to find out where your firm is leaking profit? Grab a time below and we'll jump on a call.