Finishing 2025 strong reminds us that there are notable moments in time many of us have lived through that remain pivotal points in our lives and history. Things that change how we operate – how we think and behave as individuals and as a society. Think back to when the Internet was released to the public through dial-up connection. Or when Steve Jobs announced the first edition of the Apple iPhone. It was game-changing. It was historic.
Now, here we are in 2025. A year that has proven to be a technological turning point – not just for law firms, but for everyone. Technology today is evolving and learning at the speed of light and is simultaneously transforming how we think, how we behave, and how we operate as a society.
Another Digital Revolution.
You have probably read that GPT-4 passed the Bar exam, including both the multiple choice and essay portions, scoring a 298 out of 400 on the UBE. Depending on which source you read, you’ll see they placed GPT-4 anywhere from the 70th to 95th percentile overall of test-takers. Fascinating, right? It will only get better and smarter.
We have learned of large personal injury law firms fully embracing AI and technology to support operations from marketing, to intake, to case management, all the way to disbursement. Some have allegedly cut their internal staffing down by over 50% while maintaining the same or higher caseload volume. It is happening.
While this year has proven to be a turning point for attorneys, AI adoption, automation, and ever-changing client expectations will continue to create a gap between the winners and the fence-sitters. Law firms with clear AI goals and strategies to get there are nearly 4x more likely to see measurable benefits within their practice (source). Yet, most law firms are still only considering its use without execution.
For law firm owners, managing partners, and legal marketers: watching from the sidelines is no longer an option. The future is becoming clearer. Those who build a strategy and effectively execute AI adoption in 2026 will distance themselves from their competition.
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Keep Your Foot on The Gas Pedal
For a lot of firms, the last quarter of the year is viewed as a “gearing down” season. High-performing firms treat Q4 as a runway for next year’s growth. Dedicating at least a day with your key people to brainstorm and set goals around your most important initiatives in 2026 is of utmost importance to the future of your business.
In fact, don’t wait until the end of the year to start assessing your key business metrics for the upcoming year. Identify any notable trends from previous years and have a strong confidence in which area of your business needs the most attention.
Often, we see the following areas as the most common, but they don’t always fit into these categories:
- Intake & Conversion Issues
- Lead & Case Generation (Quality or lack thereof)
- Case Management & Settlement Delays
- Client Experience & Retention Issues
- Financial & Operations Inefficiencies
- Talent Acquisition / Hiring / Capacity
Be intentional about choosing your most important focus area(s). Have your key leaders rate each one of these (or other) categories on a 1-5 scale (1 = major weakness, 5 = very strong). Once those results are compiled, further critique your highest priority weak areas by reviewing both the Impact and the Effort required for each. The impact is, “if we fix this area, how much would it move our caseload, our firm, our revenue/profit, and/or client satisfaction?” The Effort is “how hard is this going to be to fix in the next 90 days?” Rate each question on a scale of High, Medium, or Low.
This simple exercise will help you objectively narrow your focus to areas that will move the needle going into next year.
Your Year-End Optimization Checklist
Who doesn’t love a checklist to keep you on track!? Consider these three must-do items as you close your year out with momentum:
- Identify one key area you can begin to test and optimize, leveraging the use of AI within your practice. Whether it be in the area of Intake, Operations, Marketing, or somewhere in between, commit to solving a bottleneck or constraint within your practice through the careful implementation of an AI solution. It’s a matter of getting all of your key leaders involved and building accountability into pursuing a notable improvement within your practice by the end of Q1 2026.
- Reassess your firm’s key performance metrics going into next year. Better yet, identify a “champion” within your firm. This person will own and be accountable from day to day within your practice for these performance improvements. They don’t always have to be solely responsible, but having a key person to own it will serve you well. Keep these key metrics focused and intentional. Less is more. If you don’t have a culture of accountability within your practice, schedule out a weekly check-in (shouldn’t take more than 10-15 min) to share those important key metrics with your leadership team. The issues will stare you in the face when you build this level of commitment going into next year.
- Invest in your team. If you have not surveyed your team on their future goals and aspirations, start there. Survey your entire staff and ask questions like:
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- What specific skills, tools, or knowledge would help you perform your role more effectively or efficiently next year?
- What bottlenecks have you most encountered this year, making it more challenging or frustrating to complete your work in a quality and timely manner?
- Do you have any particular professional growth areas or goals we can help you accomplish next year?
Many attorneys wait until mid-January to crawl out of their Holiday Hole, wipe the sleep from their eyes, and decide what’s next for them and their practice. I encourage you to lead your team well through Q4 and set yourselves up for success in 2026.
Here’s to finishing strong this year and building momentum for next!
Tanner Jones, VP of Business Development, Consultwebs
