Growth, Technology & Financial Infrastructure for Small and Solo Law Firms
Presented by
Connecticut Bar Association
Co-hosted by
George W. Crawford Black Bar Association
Your guides
Meet the speakers
Three perspectives, one journey.
Founder Perspective
Keziah Colleton, Esq.
Principal Attorney & Founder, Launchbird Legal
Keziah is an attorney, entrepreneur, and founder of Launchbird Legal, where she advises entrepreneurs, creatives, business owners, investors, and families on intellectual property, business, and immigration matters.
She also serves in leadership roles within the Connecticut Bar Association, including as a Presidential Fellow and Vice Chair of Education for the Intellectual Property Section.
Operator
Nick Hudson
President, Coeur Legal
Advises law firms on growth, operations, technology, and business strategy; also serves as Director of Operations at The Ryan Injury Firm.
Financial Partner
John Barbalaco
EVP, Chief Banking Officer · DR Bank
A banking executive with 20+ years of experience helping businesses think about deposits, lending, liquidity, and growth capital.
The premise
One profession. Two jobs.
The tension is not new. The business side simply becomes impossible to ignore once you own the firm.
Lawyer
Practice law.
Advocate.
Advise clients.
Deliver results.
Business Owner
Find clients.
Build systems.
Manage money.
Choose what comes next.
Today is about the second job.
Quick poll
Where are you on the road?
We will ask the same question again at the end.
Second question
How confident are you that you know what your next step should be?
Vote now in the webinar poll.
The journey
Every firm takes its own road.
The timeline varies. The questions repeat.
Founder
Keziah
Operator
Nick
Financial Partner
John
At each stop, you will hear the same business from three angles: lived experience, operating discipline, and financial perspective.
Stage 01
Thinking About It
The start of the road.
You have not made the leap yet. You are gathering information, talking to people who have done it, and trying to replace some of the uncertainty with clarity.
Stage 01 · Thinking About It
Before the leap, three conversations.
You do not need certainty. You need enough clarity to make a deliberate decision.
Founder
Keziah
Why do this?
What pulled you toward ownership? What were you afraid of? What did you overthink, and what did you underestimate?
Operator
Nick
What business are you actually starting?
Who is the client? How will they find you? What happens when they call? What do you truly need on Day One?
Financial Partner
John
Can the financial foundation support it?
Runway, accounts, basic cash needs, and a banking relationship before there is an urgent need for one.
Stage 01 · Operator Lens
Start with the business. Then choose the tools.
The best early-stage firm is not the one with the most software. It is the one that knows how work is supposed to move.
01Who is your client?
02What work are you trying to get?
03How will clients find you?
04What happens after someone contacts you?
05What does Day One actually need?
Systems before software
Process↓
Bottleneck↓
Outcome↓
Tool
Stage 02
Doing It
You took the leap.
The firm is open. Now clients, deadlines, marketing, vendors, staff, technology, bookkeeping, and the practice of law all compete for the same finite amount of attention.
Stage 02 · Doing It
Now the business is real.
This is where survival and growth often happen at the same time.
Founder
Keziah
What actually happened?
What took more time than expected? What did you keep doing yourself for too long? What did ownership feel like in practice?
Operator
Nick
Can you see the business?
Where does work get stuck? What should be delegated, automated, improved, or stopped? What do the numbers say?
Financial Partner
John
Do the numbers agree?
Revenue is not cash flow. Know recurring obligations, expected collections, reserves, and the cost of the next move.
Stage 02 · The Operating Reality
You cannot eliminate uncertainty. You can create visibility.
Lawyers are trained to identify risk. Ownership asks you to live with some of it.
?New inquiries
%Conversion
→Matter source
$Revenue / collections
MOCash runway
You do not need 100 metrics. You need enough information to make better decisions.
Stage 03
Building What's Next
You have something worth protecting.
The firm has a reliable base. Now the choice is not simply whether you can grow. It is what you want the business to do for you next — and what risk you are willing to take to get there.
Stage 03 · Building What's Next
What do you want the firm to become?
Growth is not automatically the answer. Intentionality is.
More revenue
Bigger top line.
More profit
Better economics.
More support
Less founder-dependence.
More time
A business that gives something back.
The right answer can be: “This is enough.”
Stage 03 · Financial Partner Lens
Capital can bridge the gap between investment and revenue.
Financing is a tool. The question is whether the investment is likely to make the business stronger.
TodayReliable base
Invest
The gapTime before payoff
Repay
Next stage
AssociateSupport staffMarketingTechnologyWorking capital
A thoughtful lender is looking for a reasonable path to repayment — not simply a reason to make a loan.
What stays true
The questions change. The fundamentals do not.
01VisibilityKnow what is happening inside the business.
02SystemsBuild repeatable ways to do repeatable work.
03MoneyUnderstand cash, cost, and the economics of decisions.
04Course CorrectionMeasure results and be willing to change direction.
These are useful before you open, while you are building, and when you are deciding whether to take the next leap.
Before we leave
Take the questions with you.
The CLE ends. The work on your firm does not.
Question 1
Where are you now?
Thinking About It · Doing It · Building What's Next
