Why Small Law Firms Are Facing Big-Firm Problems
Jim Field • August 18, 2025
Across the U.S., small law firms are confronting challenges that, until recently, were the exclusive domain of large firms.
Increased client expectations. Rising technology demands. Talent retention pressures. Competitive threats from startups, PE-backed legal shops, and AI-first players.
It’s a Business
Most managing partners didn’t start their firms to become business managers. They wanted to practice law, serve clients, and build a reputation.
The law firm leaders who succeed in today’s environment understand their firm is not just a legal practice. It’s a business. And businesses need more than just technical skill. They need strategy, systems, and leadership.
The Real Risk is Inertia
Firms rarely get disrupted by a single dramatic change. They get disrupted by dozens of small decisions that never got made.
For example, the intake process that everyone knows is clunky, but no one has time to fix. The billing system that undercharges or delays invoices because it hasn’t been updated in years. The associate who’s ready to lead, but stuck doing admin work because nothing’s been delegated.
These are not legal problems. They’re business problems. And left unresolved, they quietly erode a firm’s ability to grow, or even survive.
The Leadership Shift
The firms that will grow stronger over the next five years will be led by people who do something deceptively simple. They think like CEOs. They operate with clarity. They act with intention.
That doesn’t require abandoning the practice of law. It simply means leading the business side of the firm with the same rigor you bring to the legal side.
A Broader Perspective
When small law firms embrace the mindset and discipline of better-run businesses, the results are often immediate and lasting.
Leaders regain clarity. Teams become more focused. Profitability improves, even before headcount increases.
But more importantly, firms position themselves to grow with purpose.
Because the market doesn’t reward size. It rewards strategy.
The definition of efficiency in law has changed. It’s no longer about squeezing more billable hours into the same day. It’s about doing the right work with the right tools. Firms that understand this shift are creating an advantage that their competitors can’t easily match.
The promise of legal technology is real. But without the right guardrails, that same technology can put a firm’s reputation, and its clients’ trust, at risk.