Building an 80-Person Personal Injury Law Firm That Private Equity Wants (Ep. 189)
Growing a successful law firm takes more than legal expertise. It requires strategic thinking, effective leadership, financial discipline, and the ability to adapt to a rapidly changing industry.
On this episode of The Lawyer Millionaire, host Darren Wurz sits down with Howard Ankin, founding partner of Ankin Law in Chicago, to discuss how he built a practice into a firm with 26 attorneys and more than 80 team members. Their conversation explores the realities of scaling a law firm, competing with national firms, embracing technology, managing cash flow, and preparing for the future of the legal profession.
Howard's journey offers valuable lessons for law firm owners who want to build profitable, sustainable businesses without losing sight of what makes practicing law meaningful.
1. The Challenge of Growing Beyond a Small Law Firm
When lawyers first establish their practices, their primary focus is usually on serving clients, handling cases, and developing their reputations. As the firm grows, however, the owner's responsibilities begin to change.
Howard explains that running a larger law firm requires significantly more attention to executive decisions, staff management, and operational challenges. At a certain point, the owner can no longer spend most of their time practicing law.
This transition can be difficult, especially for lawyers who built their businesses around their personal expertise.
The lesson is that the skills that help you become a successful lawyer are not necessarily the same skills required to lead a successful law firm.
Law firm owners must learn to manage people, establish systems, delegate responsibilities, and make decisions that support the entire organization.
2. Why Growth Can Become a Competitive Necessity
Howard did not always envision running a firm with over 80 people. At different points in his career, he considered maintaining a smaller operation.
However, the personal injury legal market became increasingly competitive. Today, firms are not competing only against other local practices but also against national organizations with substantial resources.
Larger competitors can invest heavily in advertising, technology, staffing, and business development. For firms seeking high-profile cases and greater market visibility, remaining small can create significant disadvantages.
For Howard, growth became less about pursuing size for its own sake and more about remaining competitive.
This does not mean every law firm needs dozens of attorneys. Instead, owners must understand the competitive realities of their practice areas and decide what scale their business needs to operate effectively.
The important question is not simply, "How large do I want my firm to become?" It is, "What capabilities does my firm need to compete and serve clients successfully?"
3. Successful Legal Marketing Requires More Than Advertising
Personal injury law is a highly competitive market, and Howard has experienced the evolution of legal advertising firsthand.
Earlier in his career, competition involved telephone directory advertisements and traditional media. Today, firms compete for attention through television, radio, billboards, digital advertising, and Google Ads.
Howard emphasizes that effective marketing involves more than placing advertisements wherever possible. Firms must be strategic about where they advertise, which audiences they target, and how they position themselves against competitors.
He also explains that Google Ads performance is influenced by more than the amount a firm bids. Google's assessment of an advertisement's relevance can affect how much an advertiser pays for clicks.
For law firm owners, this reinforces the importance of approaching marketing strategically rather than simply increasing advertising expenditure.
A thoughtful marketing strategy should consider the firm's target clients, competitive position, available budget, and ability to handle the cases generated by its campaigns.
Marketing should support the firm's broader business goals rather than operate as an isolated expense.
4. Client Service Remains a Powerful Source of Referrals
Despite operating in an advertising-intensive industry, Howard estimates that approximately 40–50% of his firm's cases come through referrals.
These referrals include other attorneys, previous clients, family members, and friends.
This is a significant reminder that even large law firms continue to depend on trust and professional relationships.
Howard's philosophy is straightforward: if clients are not recommending the firm to others, the firm may not be delivering the quality of service it should.
Excellent legal work can strengthen a firm's reputation, create lasting professional relationships, and generate opportunities that advertising alone may not provide.
For law firm owners, referral generation should be viewed as an outcome of consistently delivering value, communicating effectively, and building confidence among clients and professional partners.
Advertising can help people discover a firm, but the quality of their experience can influence whether they recommend it to someone else.
5. Using AI and Technology to Improve Law Firm Operations
Technology has become a major part of Howard's approach to managing a growing law firm.
His team uses AI and customized software across several stages of legal work, including:
Client intake and initial research.
Document preparation and case management.
Calendar management and reminders.
Deposition preparation and transcript analysis.
Trial preparation and exhibit creation.
Howard also describes using closed-loop AI systems that keep information within the firm's controlled environment, with the aim of reducing the risks associated with inaccurate AI outputs and protecting information.
Beyond AI, the firm has invested in technology specialists and customized software built on a Salesforce-based platform. Its systems support activities ranging from intake and accounting to case management and distribution.
These investments allow the firm to coordinate work across a larger organization and use technology in ways that a much smaller practice might find difficult to afford.
The broader lesson is that technology should not be adopted simply because it is fashionable. It should help the firm improve efficiency, manage information, process cases, and serve clients more effectively.
Law firm owners should identify operational bottlenecks first and then evaluate which tools can help address them.
6. Build an Organizational Structure That Supports Growth
As a law firm expands, informal communication and individual effort become less sufficient to coordinate daily operations.
Howard's firm has dedicated leaders for areas such as human resources, marketing and advertising, intake, and individual practice groups. Lawyers also work in teams, or pods, with support staff assisting them in managing their caseloads.
This structure creates clearer responsibilities and allows specialized teams to focus on their areas of expertise.
The firm also has substantial technology support, including coding and software customization, to help its systems evolve with its needs.
For growing law firms, the lesson is to build an organizational structure that matches the complexity of the business.
Owners should identify which responsibilities need dedicated leadership, which activities can be delegated, and where better coordination would improve performance.
Without these structures, growth can increase the owner's workload rather than create a more manageable business.
7. Managing Cash Flow in a Contingency-Fee Practice
Cash flow is one of the most challenging aspects of operating a personal injury law firm.
Unlike businesses that receive relatively predictable payments, contingency-fee firms may experience significant fluctuations in revenue depending on when cases settle.
Howard describes the financial uncertainty he experienced earlier in his career. At one point, he kept the firm's money in its operating account and paid himself at the end of the year because he was concerned about whether the business would have enough money to sustain itself.
He compares this approach to running a grocery store: a business owner cannot empty the cash register for personal use if that money is needed to replenish the shelves.
The analogy highlights a crucial distinction between money held by a business and money that an owner can safely withdraw.
As a law firm grows, financial management becomes increasingly important. Owners need to understand their operating expenses, anticipated obligations, available cash, and the timing of future revenue.
Howard also discusses upgrading his firm's accounting systems and department as the business's financial complexity increased.
For law firm owners, disciplined cash management can help reduce uncertainty and support better decisions about hiring, marketing, technology, and compensation.
8. Preparing for Private Equity and Law Firm Acquisitions
Howard reveals that potential buyers contact him regularly about acquiring his practice, sometimes once or twice a week.
Although he remains passionate about practicing law, he recognizes that private equity and other acquisition interests are changing the competitive landscape.
He also acknowledges that his firm has had to change how it operates. In recent years, the business has strengthened its accounting processes and upgraded certain organizational roles as it moves toward a more business-oriented management approach.
This is an important lesson for law firm owners who may eventually want to sell their practices.
A firm built entirely around the owner's legal expertise may be difficult to transition if its financial management, operations, and leadership structure are not sufficiently developed.
Preparing for a potential sale should involve building a well-managed business long before an offer arrives.
Even owners who never intend to sell can benefit from this approach. Stronger financial systems and operations can support profitability, reduce unnecessary dependence on the owner, and create greater flexibility for the future.
9. Effective Leadership Requires Understanding People
One of the most interesting parts of Howard's conversation concerns the changing expectations of lawyers across generations.
Howard explains that the professional environment in which he began his career emphasized long hours, unquestioned commitment, and doing things according to established expectations.
Younger lawyers may approach work differently, placing greater importance on boundaries, flexibility, and their lives outside the office.
Rather than treating these differences as inherently right or wrong, Howard believes leaders need to understand what individual employees want from their careers.
For some people, success may mean financial achievement. For others, it may involve professional reputation, community involvement, personal fulfillment, or a sustainable work-life balance.
Effective leadership begins by understanding these motivations and communicating in ways that help employees connect their goals with the firm's direction.
This requires more than giving instructions. It involves listening, explaining expectations, and recognizing that people from different backgrounds may interpret the same message differently.
For law firm owners, this approach can help create stronger working relationships and a team that understands both its individual responsibilities and its collective purpose.
10. The Ultimate Goal: A More Profitable Business and Greater Freedom
Throughout the episode, one theme consistently emerges: law firm owners need to move beyond simply practicing law and learn to operate their firms as businesses.
That does not mean abandoning the profession's values. Howard's continued passion for practicing law is central to his story.
Instead, the goal is to establish the financial and operational foundations that allow the firm to succeed over time.
Better accounting, thoughtful hiring, effective delegation, strategic marketing, technology investments, and stronger leadership can all contribute to a more sustainable business.
As Darren emphasizes at the end of the episode, the transition toward business ownership is not just about earning more money. It is also about reducing stress, creating more time, improving profitability, and building a firm that can provide its owner with greater freedom.
Final Thoughts
Howard Ankin's journey demonstrates that building a successful law firm requires continuous adaptation.
What works for a solo practitioner may not work for a firm with dozens of attorneys and more than 80 employees. As the organization grows, its owner must become increasingly skilled at leadership, financial management, technology, marketing, and strategic planning.
The legal industry will continue to evolve, shaped by AI, changing employee expectations, increasingly sophisticated competitors, and interest from potential acquirers.
Law firm owners cannot control every change, but they can prepare by building stronger businesses.
The most important takeaway is this: Don't wait until you want to sell your law firm—or until growth becomes overwhelming—to start running it like a business.
Develop sound financial systems, build a capable team, invest in the right technology, nurture referral relationships, and create processes that support sustainable growth.
A successful law firm should do more than generate revenue. It should serve clients well, create opportunities for its people, and help its owner build lasting wealth and freedom.
Resources:
Profit from the Core: A Return to Growth in Turbulent Times by Chris Zook with James Allen (Book)
Law Firm Financial Reporting Template Pack (Exclusive content)
Connect with Darren Wurz:
Connect with Howard Ankin:
Linkedin: Howard Ankin
Website: Ankin Law
About Howard Ankin:
Howard Ankin is a third-generation attorney who has built lifelong connections with many of his clients, some of whom he’s known since childhood. These clients are often the descendants of individuals who were represented by his father and grandfather, creating a legacy of trust and commitment. Many recall seeing Howard as a young boy accompanying his father to the court during school breaks, where his passion for justice and the law was deeply ingrained from an early age.
Today, Howard is at the helm of Ankin Law, a firm he co-founded with his father, Paul B. Ankin, in March 1997. Over the years, the firm has grown under its leadership, specializing in personal injury, workers’ compensation, trucking litigation, wrongful death, social security disability, and both criminal and civil litigation. Howard’s dedication to his clients and his relentless pursuit of justice continue the proud Ankin family tradition of providing exceptional legal support.
In just his third year of practice, Howard achieved a $1,000,000 recovery for his client in Latta vs. Village Green Associates—a testament to his skill and determination. Today, his record is filled with numerous legal victories, but what Howard values most is the stability and hope he brings to his clients by securing their livelihoods through his legal expertise. Howard is committed to representing his clients not just as an attorney, but as a trusted advisor and friend. He is known for providing quality referrals for legal matters beyond his practice areas, ensuring his clients receive the best possible guidance. His dedication to Ankin Law is evident every day, as families across Chicago and Illinois continue to seek the firm’s counsel at every stage of their lives.
Transcript:
Darren Wurz [00:00]:
What does it take to build an 80-person personal injury law firm that private equity calls twice a week to try to buy? Well, Howard Ankin is here to tell us. All right, listeners, welcome back to The Lawyer Millionaire podcast. I'm your host, Darren Wurz, and I have the privilege of being joined today by Howard Ankin, well-known personal injury firm owner in Chicago. Howard, welcome to the show.
Howard Ankin [00:25]:
Thanks for having me.
Darren Wurz [00:27]:
Yeah, thanks for being here. I'm excited to pick your brain a little bit. You have grown to be a 25-attorney law firm. Is that right?
Howard Ankin [00:35]:
Probably 26 if you include me.
Darren Wurz [00:38]:
Okay. Okay. So, tell us what's different about running a 25-attorney law firm that no one tells you when you're a solo and just starting out?
Howard Ankin [00:45]:
So, I have about 80-something people with me in total. So yeah, there is a big difference between having a 5 or 10-person firm, a 50-person firm, and a 75-person firm. Those are all very different. At a 20-person firm, 90% or 95% of my time was practicing law still at that point. Once you get to a certain number of lawyers, the day-to-day management of the law practice takes over a lot. Even if you have great people that are working with you, there's still a lot of executive decisions that need to be made, and a surprising number of executive decisions that need to be made or executive-level type problems that arise. Unless you're in a firm where there's multiple partners, but for me, where it's my law firm, the decisions that come out of some of these executive decisions definitely impact me, so you have to be a part of them.
Darren Wurz [01:45]:
Yeah, there's a lot. And I understand that you still do a little bit of lawyering while managing the firm. How do you find the time to keep it all organized?
Howard Ankin [01:55]:
Well, it just seems like this year I haven't been as organized as I usually want to be, mostly because working like a 70-hour week, I'm on strike with myself over that. So as long as you're working the hours, you can take on as much as you need to take on. If you start getting to the point where you're going to limit your hours to like 60 hours a week, that's when you need to start delegating more.
Darren Wurz [02:25]:
Yeah, absolutely. Now, as I understand it, you joined your father in business and grew from there. Tell us a little bit about that story of getting started.
Howard Ankin [02:35]:
So, I have a very different family law story. My father had his law practice, and he was a lawyer for probably at that time 35 years. I had worked for a law firm and I was about to be starting my sixth year of law practice. So we got a suite together. He had his law practice and I had my law practice, and we practiced separately for a period of time.
Darren Wurz [03:05]:
Okay.
Howard Ankin [03:06]:
But as time went on, there were certain things that I concentrated in, certain types of things that my dad concentrated in, and then we merged it into one. Ultimately, my dad continued to practice the way that he practiced in his law practice always. And then I—it was more like a modern-day way that people practiced, where they marketed and advertised their law firm more, had more staff, and grew it. It wasn't something that my dad was used to; he was used to being a sole practitioner.
Darren Wurz [03:45]:
Okay. Wow. Did you envision that you would one day lead a 25-attorney firm when you were just starting out, or when was there a pivotal moment when you thought, "Oh, I really do want to grow this and become a larger operation"?
Howard Ankin [04:05]:
There were periods of time in my career where I probably stunted my growth, where I got to the point where I was like, "Okay, 10 people are enough." I got to the point where it was like, "20 people are enough." And I thought it would be better just to maintain a certain size of the firm. But especially in the personal injury field that I concentrate in, this is a very, very competitive field of law, and we live in a very, very competitive society in all matters. So as soon as you're trying to create a better work-life balance, all of a sudden competitors that don't care about that are stealing your lunch. Today, in my world, you're not just competing against lawyers in your community, but you're competing against lawyers that are national law firms.
Darren Wurz [05:00]:
Right. Right.
Howard Ankin [05:02]:
Yeah. So, do I ever feel like I would have a law firm that would be approaching 100 people? I probably didn't envision that 35 years ago. And I'm not necessarily sure that I set out to want to have a 100-person law firm either, but like anything else, necessity is the invention of how things work.
Darren Wurz [05:25]:
Mother of invention. Yeah.
Howard Ankin [05:27]:
Yeah. And that's really just how it is. In order to be competitive against some of the national firms where they have thousands of lawyers, you can't be a 5 or 10-person law firm and be competitive in the field that I've been in.
Darren Wurz [05:45]:
So growth was just really out of necessity to compete, and in PI, being the size that you are, it is very competitive. I probably don't want to know what your Google ad spend is, but...
Howard Ankin [05:58]:
Yeah.
Darren Wurz [06:00]:
...not everybody has that capability. How did you—I mean, was it always that competitive, or have you seen it become so much more competitive in recent years? And how did you stand out when you were first getting started and trying to build?
Howard Ankin [06:15]:
Right. And when you're talking about competitive, I'm not just talking about competitive for monetary reasons.
Darren Wurz [06:22]:
Yeah.
Howard Ankin [06:24]:
I'm talking about competitive to work on the type of cases that you want. So to get cases that are newsworthy, to get cases that are newsworthy at the courthouse, where other lawyers are talking about the type of cases that you're working on. You can work on cases, but to get the best cases or to get to the pinnacle of your career, that's what I'm talking about in terms of competitiveness. You're not going to be in that small group of lawyers that gets these types of cases unless you're in a position to do well with them and in a position to compete for them. Okay, you're asking about advertising and Google ads, that type of stuff.
At the beginning, I had telephone books. So some lawyers had a small ad, and then some lawyers had the back of the phone book and a double truck and their spine was on the side of it. At the beginning, to be competitive, I wanted to be the lawyer that had my advertisement on the back of the phone book and had a double truck when you opened it up.
Darren Wurz [07:25]:
Okay.
Howard Ankin [07:26]:
Right. So it's no less than now. If you're doing old school broadcast television or broadcast radio, you could be on one station or you could be on seven. It all just depends on what you're on. And to get the best marketing or the best advertising, it's competitive in order to even get the best marketing advertising. So somebody could say, "Look, I want to run an ad." Well, you can run that ad. But sometimes if you want to run an ad in a certain program or on radio, like if you want to have RDS—so you could run a radio spot, but coming up in the car itself when the radio station shows you this song is being played, or you can have it where your advertisement is being played for your law firm. For a lot of these things, there's only one law firm that has certain types of marketing or advertising. So if you want to be competitive, you have to make sure that you're getting your advertising in the right place: the right billboard, the right TV show, the right radio spot. That is, unless your idea of marketing advertising is just to place ads anywhere and hope that somebody sees them.
And it's the same way with Google local, where if you're just placing a couple of ads, your key bid or what you're paying for those ads is going to be a lot higher than if Google rates you as somebody that is actually going to help somebody with the problem that they have. Whatever their metrics are, Google has to think that you're the right person to show that ad. Now, if Google doesn't think you're the right person to show that ad, you could still bid to be shown to whoever is Googling for you, but your cost for placing that ad and to be clicked on by somebody—the cost per click—is going to be a lot higher.
Darren Wurz [09:10]:
Do you get a lot of referrals still? And what percentage of new clients or new revenue would you say comes from referrals?
Howard Ankin [09:20]:
I would probably say 50% of the cases that we get here is co-counsel lawyers, referral of referrals, family, friends, people that we did a good job for, so on and so forth. And if I'm overrating that, it's at least 40%.
Darren Wurz [09:40]:
Yeah.
Howard Ankin [09:41]:
If we're not doing a good job for somebody on a case and they're not referring us to the next person, then we haven't done a great job for them. I started out my career where all my referrals—I used to walk up and down in the downtown Loop of Chicago. I used to walk up and down in those days LaSalle Street, and all the old-timers tried to go back to their office and pick up the last six cases that were collecting dust in their file drawer and then try it for them. So the idea that I'm still getting referrals from other lawyers, that they're seeking us out for our skill here, we're still doing that.
Darren Wurz [10:25]:
Yeah. Yeah, that's incredible. And it's a common theme. A lot of people assume bigger firms like yours have fewer referrals, and are more ad-based, but it's actually not the case. We see that quite often even in larger firms: the referral base is still very strong. And in fact, you have probably had this experience: your better clients and your better cases usually come as a result of referrals.
Howard Ankin [10:55]:
How we staff the cases, that's how much staff we're going to use. So I actually think we have more staff per case than a law firm that's smaller. We have all different types of departments, we have all different types of collaboration. And also, the technology that we use here is probably far more advanced than a smaller shop. Like the stuff that we're doing with AI, our software—our cost for what our technology is here, I would never have been able to afford the technology that we have here with a 5, 10, or 20-person law firm.
Darren Wurz [11:35]:
Yeah, absolutely. Speaking of AI and technology, what does your tech stack look like, and how are you utilizing AI to improve efficiency and case throughput in your firm?
Howard Ankin [11:50]:
Everything is about technology now to maximize the recovery for a client, how long the case takes to process, and how to make sure that we process it best, even from the point of intake. Now there's open-loop and closed-loop AI. In my office, everything is closed-loop AI, making sure that we don't have any hallucinations and so on and so forth. Everything is contained in-house. But from the time that a client comes to us from intake, we may be researching things based on AI, all the document preparation, calendars, reminders, so on and so forth. And then definitely when it comes to trial, well, also deposition prep before trial, but timelines, marking up our dep transcripts, making exhibits—this is all very AI-driven.
Darren Wurz [12:50]:
Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. At a firm size of yours, I'm curious: what does the leadership structure look like? And how have you organized your team members? Are they in certain pods? What's your leadership team structure like? Do you have a COO? Do you have a CMO? What are the positions you have?
Howard Ankin [13:15]:
Yeah. So our organizational structure is: my name's on the door, but I also throw the garbage out at night if I need to. The managing partner here basically manages the whole law firm through technology. He's 24/7 involved in technology. He oversees a technology department. So we have an outsourced technology group that basically maintains the integrity of our structure here. That group has somebody that comes in here full-time, who works on-site full-time to maintain the integrity of our firm. Then we have an in-house coder who's in-house coding all day long.
Darren Wurz [14:05]:
Oh, wow.
Howard Ankin [14:07]:
We have somebody in Brazil who's coding all day long. We have somebody in upstate New York that is coding all day long. So we have three people that are, all they're doing is coding and upgrading our technologies as we need it. We have projects that are in the queue now that could be like another year and a half. And if we expand our budget for it, we would double or triple the amount of technology needs that we have.
Darren Wurz [14:40]:
So, do you have like a proprietary CRM system that you've developed and you're using?
Howard Ankin [14:48]:
We don't have our own. We use Litify, which is a Salesforce-based software program. But basically anybody who has this software program, it's definitely not out of the box. It's all coded based off of a Salesforce-based platform. Everything from accounting, intake, management of the case, distribution, from beginning to end—this is all proprietary coding that we do here internally for our office. With that, we have people that manage different departments. I have a lawyer that's an HR director. I have somebody that's a director of marketing and advertising in-house, where we work together on all our marketing and advertising. I have a head of our intake department. I have heads of our individual practice groups. And then the lawyers work in their own pod, where the lawyers have their caseload and then their support team that helps them with their caseload.
Darren Wurz [15:55]:
Okay, makes sense. Contingency fee work can be a very interesting cash flow cycle—some very big ups and some very big downs, especially when you're smaller and maybe don't have a regular rhythm of cases coming in. But I'm sure you probably experience a little bit of that still to this day. What are some lessons you've learned in managing the cash flow cycle of a contingency firm? Was there ever a day where you were panicked over the cash flow and found a way to fix it?
Howard Ankin [16:30]:
I'm always panicked over the cash flow, always. Certain years I'm more panicked about it than others. I had worked for a firm, then I worked for another firm as an attorney, and then I started out my own firm with me and a pencil, and then kind of developed it from there. Very early on, I was always nervous about the money. At that time, I was not married and I had no kids, so I learned early on: I kept all my money in my law firm account, not my trust fund account, but my law firm account. I kept all my money in my law firm account and I would pay myself on December 31st. But I was always nervous that I wasn't going to have enough money to get through the year, so I paid myself at the end of the year.
Darren Wurz [17:35]:
It's not like that anymore for you.
Howard Ankin [17:38]:
Well, yeah. I mean, I got a wife, I got kids, and I got other obligations. So I'm not saying it's exactly like that. But I've tried to keep myself from putting my hand into the till at my local store. I've tried to keep the money in the cash register, knowing that I'd have to buy more groceries to restock the shelves in my store, and I didn't want to not have the money to restock the shelves. So I've always tried to maintain that in my mind. As time goes on, managing it that way is becoming a little bit more difficult. So anyways, this past year, we've definitely upgraded in my accounting department. We've upgraded our software for our accounting, so on and so forth. But that's just now in the last couple of years that I'm starting to have to take a salary.
Darren Wurz [18:50]:
Yeah. Okay. Okay. You know, there's a lot happening in law firm sales and acquisitions. There's private equity chomping at the bit, there's MSOs people are talking about, and all of that good stuff. What's your take on all of this? Have you had anybody reach out and try to buy your practice or anything like that?
Howard Ankin [19:15]:
If I don't have somebody reaching out at least once a week, it's twice a week.
Darren Wurz [19:20]:
Oh, wow.
Howard Ankin [19:22]:
Yeah. So, yes, I'm reluctant to it, which I'll get to in a second. But I'm also nervous about it because I feel like all my competitors have sold. So I'm nervous about—I may be able to be like, "Hey, I'm not selling," but I don't know what the future's going to hold for me if I'm competing against Wall Street. When you're talking about money, yeah, I'm nervous about how that's going to work. I always ran my law practice like I was a lawyer first, not like a business. And so in these last year or two, yeah, we've really had to pivot here. Like I say, I upgraded how we did our accounting work and upgraded different positions. We've had to pivot to change how we're running our practice to be more like a business than a law firm. Some of the things that you need as a business, if you're running practice as a law firm, I wasn't really worried about these other things. Now I'm worried about having to do it, and I don't think anybody was going to be buying me based on how we were running the practice before. With that, I don't know what the future's going to hold. I feel like in my office, our lawyers are settling the cases. It's not like we have a team of people in a mobile home park somewhere that is settling cases pre-lit or what have you. I go to lawyer seminars and stuff, and they say, "Well, if the lawyer doesn't need to be doing the job, then the lawyer shouldn't be doing the job."
I guess I feel like there's a lot of things that the lawyers should be doing, and so I'm going to hold out as long as I can to be a lawyer. I'm a third-generation lawyer, so I like being a lawyer. I don't know if I like how the world is going. But sure, I just celebrated my 40th high school reunion. So maybe all of a sudden I guess I'm like the older lawyer now, which I don't really think I am, but maybe I am. And so maybe like how it was for me 35 years ago when I first got into this, maybe there were lawyers at that time where they didn't like my ideas of how I practice law. So definitely law is evolving, and one of those things that it's evolving with is private equity.
Darren Wurz [21:40]:
Well, you know, I said this last week at a conference and I'll say it again: the world is constantly evolving and a lot of law firm owners think they get to a place of status quo and they can be in the Maldives while their law firm runs itself. And maybe that'll happen, but it's a lot more difficult than it seems, especially because the world is just always changing. Business was done differently 10 years ago versus today, and so we always have to be willing to adapt. Howard, I have one last question for you. One of the biggest differences as you grow is learning how to be a leader, and I'm wondering what you have learned about effectively leading a team of nearly 100 people now, right? I'm sure you've had to step into the shoes of a great leader and great communicator. What have you learned about that in your journey?
Howard Ankin [22:30]:
So, in my office, we have people from multiple different generations here. I have people here that are Generation X, Generation Y, Generation Z, and people from the Great Generation. And how people feel about working, how they feel about even coming to an office, how they feel about work-life balance—there's a great divide between people that are of my generation and of the generation of people that are coming out of law school. When I started out and came out of law school, the idea of the people that I was working for was like, "This is how it's done, and you do it my way or the highway." Okay. And if I would say that to people that are coming out of law school today, they'd be like, "It's the highway." Okay. I did it exactly how I was told and then some, okay? It doesn't work like that anymore. I'm not saying it's wrong, it just doesn't work like that anymore. So when you're saying how do you lead or how do you be a leader, you need to understand what people want out of work, okay? And not everybody wants the same thing out of work to be successful, whatever that means. Does that mean being successful economically? Does that mean being successful with your reputation? Does that mean being successful on behalf of other people? That is not the same thing for everybody. Being a part of the bar association and becoming the president of this board or that board, which I am—there's people that have no concern about giving back and helping how law is run in our community here. All right. So anyways, my point being on this is there are some people now in the law field where it's not really a profession to them. This is a job, and they just want to come to work and they just like the idea of being a lawyer as their job, but it's not really a profession to them. They're going to come to work and they're going to do their job 40 hours a week, 45 hours a week, and that's all you get. That wasn't really how I was taught to be a lawyer. A lawyer to me was—your time was the jealous mistress. That's how it was positioned. Lawyers worked, they burnt the candle at both ends, they worked through the midnight hour. For some people that could be true, but it's not true today.
So with all of that, my leadership is in understanding who people are, what they want, what they try to accomplish, and trying to explain to people like, "If you want this, then your mindset about how you're trying to get there—I don't think it works." I'm the longest-winded person I know, and the reason for that is because I need to talk about things from multiple different angles and analogies and examples, bringing out points because I don't know what's going to hit. And when I do talk to somebody about this, if I'm talking to somebody that's a contemporary of mine, I can talk in very short sentences and they understand exactly what I'm saying. But whoever might be listening to this, if I just talked from my understanding of my generation or where I come from, that is a completely different thing than somebody that comes from a different background than me, comes from a different generation than me, comes from even a different community practicing law than me, or comes from a different law practice than me. Understanding all this, I need to understand in order to be successful for myself and successful for people that have believed in me and attached their career to mine to get them through their journey.
Darren Wurz [29:25]:
Absolutely. I believe that people are the most successful when they can see themselves, when their vision fits inside of your vision for the company. And so that's great advice to understand where people are coming from and what people really want. So I appreciate that. Well, Howard, it's been great chatting with you today. Any last things you want to leave with our audience before we go?
Howard Ankin [29:5`1]:
If for whatever reason anybody ever needs me, I'm at 312-6-MILLION, which is 312-600-0000. I love practicing law. I love being a lawyer. I love talking about law. So I'm here to help whoever needs help. If they need me, please get me.
Darren Wurz [30:10]:
Great. And we'll make sure to get all that in the show notes where you can see where you can go to learn more about Howard and his great practice. Howard, great having you on the show today.
Howard Ankin [30:21]:
Thanks for having me, Doug.
Darren Wurz [30:25]:
All right. A huge thank you to Howard Ankin, founding partner of Ankin Law in Chicago, a third-generation lawyer who has grown his firm to 26 attorneys and more than 80 people. You can find all the links to connect with him and learn more in today's show notes. And by the way, do check out those show notes. We've got a lot of great resources there for you, including a law firm value audit where you can find out what your law firm could be worth. I loved how Howard talked about the pivot from lawyer-first to business-first and how he's still working on making that pivot. So many law firm owners are working on making that pivot. And it's not just about making more money. It's about a better work-life balance. It's about greater time. It's about a practice that is less stressful and more profitable. Here at The Lawyer Millionaire, this is the exact pivot we help law firm owners make. We put financial planning, tax strategy, business, and exit all on one team, so you're not learning to run your law firm like a business the year before you want to sell it. The firm that pays its owner on purpose is the firm that has an exit worth taking. If today's conversation hit home, we would love to talk with you. Go ahead and grab your free intro call in today's show notes. Well, that's it for today, my friend. And remember, if your law firm isn't building you wealth and freedom, well, what the hell are you doing? Can I get an amen? All right. Now, go make it happen, and I'll see you next time.