Considering Leaving the Law for Work Life Balance?

Life as a lawyer often comes with stress, long hours, missing time with family, and chasing billable hours and invoices. Additionally, this traditional model of practicing law can leave you feeling as if you have to choose between building your bank account and building a law practice that brings you true fulfillment. Finding the balance in all of this isn’t an easy feat, and like many of your fellow lawyers, you may be considering leaving the law.

Burnout is Real

If you’re a lawyer with a few years under your belt, chances are by now, you’re feeling pretty burned out. 

That’s exactly where Pam Maass was before she joined NLBM: “I was coming [up] on 10 years out of law school now and I was really just burned out on litigation and having angry defense lawyers scream at me. Just working my butt off and making law firms millions of dollars without taking home anything.” 

It doesn’t take long before the reality of practicing law sinks in, making you realize there aren’t enough hours in the day, not enough time on the clock, and, worst yet, not enough money in your bank account.

For lawyers already stretched beyond capacity to meet the demands intrinsic to the reality of being a lawyer, the tools you often rely upon (intelligence, determination, and hard work) aren’t what’s going to get you through the inevitable tough times you encounter along the way.

Stop Practicing the Flawed Way of Law

It’s no wonder that burnout happens when we’re taught as lawyers that billable hours are the measure of success in law firms. It means that to reach higher income goals, we have to put in more hours.

In fact, according to a Yale Law School Career Development Office article, The Truth About the Billable Hour, the weekly hours a lawyer needs to work just to keep up with a law firm’s billable hour expectation is at least 71 hours - or nearly 12 hours per day, 6 days a week - most weeks of the year!

That just further supports the feeling that it’s impossible to make good money and have a healthy work life balance, while remaining in the field of law. 

This may cause you to ask yourself: “Why did I become a lawyer in the first place?”. 

Didn’t you pursue the law so you could provide a truly fulfilling service to your community, while earning a good living that gives you freedom and flexibility?

If so, then achieving that dream requires a fundamental change—leaving the old way of practicing law.

There Is a Way to Have it All

With the New Law Business Model, practicing lawyers are finding independence, financial security, and the work-life balance to thrive in both their personal and professional life. 

After a few years of long hours and exhaustion, many lawyers, whether at an established firm or with their practice, consider changing careers to find a greater sense of purpose, increased wealth, and personal freedom. The NLBM program allows lawyers to tap into the inspiration that got them into law in the first place– a deep desire to help people. Putting this heart into law practice through working with their clients allows for lawyers to continue to follow their dreams without the imbalance of a traditional law career. 

Just one of the many fundamental differences between the Old Way and our New Way of practicing law is moving away from the billable hour.  

When you take away the hourly rate, you instantly uncap your potential for growth. You no longer have to worry about charging by the hour every email, phone call, and meeting, which deters clients from communicating with you. 

But it doesn’t stop there. 

Charging flat fees can be just as detrimental to your bottom line as hourly billing. 

If you are providing flat fee legal services and charging fees that are too low to provide a truly meaningful service to your clients, you are going to find yourself in massive time debt to your law practice and to your clients.

The key to avoiding this common issue is understanding the real value of your services. 

We call our New Way style of flat fees “affordable premium” fees. Affordable premium means that you get paid premium fees, and yet it’s STILL the most affordable solution for your clients. And clients love this model because they get to choose their own fee after understanding the real value behind what you’re providing.

This is just one small pivot that’s part of the whole New Way of practicing law that has helped Pam Mass and countless others to achieve the life and law practice they’ve been searching for:

“Before NLBM I was burned out and thinking of leaving the law completely to become a life coach. I actually discovered NLBM when I searched "leaving the legal field". 

Now, I love my law firm and my law practice. My clients are wonderful to work with and super grateful. I feel like I am making a difference, and have a better work-life balance. I feel confident and excited about what the future holds, which wouldn't have been possible without NLBM.”

The flexibility and freedom of the program are perfect for those looking to find balance in life. The ability to pursue personal and career goals simultaneously without sacrificing one or the other is integral to a successful life. 

Learn More About Our New Way

If you have questions and would like to learn more about New Law Business Model we invite you to schedule a chat with a real, live person - we call them Law Business Advisors - who will be more than happy to answer your questions. 

You can also check out our private Facebook Group where you’ll find a community of like-minded Entrepreneurial Lawyers who want to build lucrative, fulfilling law practices.