Firmly Profits

I am a fractional CFO that provides law firm owners with confidence to make strategic financial decisions in their firms. As a former law firm administrator I have the real world firm experience to know how a law firm runs day to day. 

I provide bookkeeping for law firms and small businesses in a way that gives you data to make financial decisions about the future of your firm.

With the mission to reach as many law firm owners as possible and give them financial confidence, I have appeared on many podcasts and pursue other speaking opportunities.

Fractional CFO

Parvey & Cavenago Attorneys, P.A.

Litigation/Trial Paralegal
Firm Administrator

Chief Financial Officer/Florida Registered Paralegal

Dellutri Law Group

Paralegal

As a fractional CFO I use the 10+ years I spent working IN a law firm to help law firm owners gain an in-depth understanding of their firm’s financial picture. 

I am on a mission to help law firm owners become confident in their law firm finances. When firm owners have big financial goals, the first step to reaching those goals is making strategic financial decisions.

I started as a legal assistant and worked my way up through the “law firm ranks”. I know how a law firm runs day to day. When you hire me as your fCFO I bring my financial expertise and my law firm operational experience to our meetings. 

I love working with law firms because they are unique in the small business world. Revenue can be a roller coaster and expenses are unique to law firms. 

I work with law firm owners who are in all different growth phases. This includes.

•	Firms who are hiring their first employees and making the jump from a true solo firm to a firm that has growth in their future. 
•	Firms that are pushing towards their first 7-figure year, hiring associates, and taking their expenses to the next level. 
•	Firms that have reached the big 7-figure milestone and are looking to grow in the coming years. 
•	Firms that are generating revenue but feel overwhelmed with expenses and very little profit. 
•	Firm Owners who are looking for an outside consultant to give them confidence in their finances. 

As a fractional CFO for law firms, I improve financial operations by providing strategic financial guidance, managing cash flow, and analyzing financial data to identify opportunities for growth and improvement.

When we work together you receive my unique consulting style. I believe education never stops. We should always be seeking to learn more about the world around us. From a “consultant” perspective, I believe it is my role to be the educator. I want those I work with to understand the WHY behind why we do what we do.

Understanding the “why” prepares you as a firm owner to continue to make strategic financial decisions in the future.

As we work together guiding your firm into the future, I want to give you the information for you (and your leadership team) to make the best decision. This is not a one size fits all approach.

If you are a law firm owner who is looking to feel more confident in your financial decisions as you reach and exceed growth goals this year we need to talk. Send me a DM or visit my website to schedule a free 30-minute consultation. 

WWW.LNMFinancial.com

Leah Miller, MBA

Highlights for my client include:
✅ Doubling personal injury revenue in less than 12 months (specifically new client intake - not just collecting what was already in the firm)

✅ Adding $300,000 in new revenue to a six-figure criminal defense firm

✅ Launching one of the top podcasts on estate planning in the country (which brings in actual clients, not just listeners)

✅ Tripling average client value for multiple estate planning firms

✅ Coached numerous firms from six figures to their first million dollar year

✅ Grew a $1.1 million personal injury firm to $3.1 million (and counting!)

I wasn't brought into the legal profession as a lawyer... I started in marketing and learned everything I could about what it takes to build and grow an exceptional, high-profit law firm. Today, I coach a select group of law firm owners to 2X-5X their firms and grow as LEADERS. I also publish market-leading courses on growth tools for law firms.

👉 YOUR JOURNEY as a leader and growth engine is the #1 key to unlocking the full potential of your law firm. We can easily increase revenues while you live a better life by following the 7 Stages of Law Firm Leadership, my coaching road map developed specifically for law firms.

With 13+ years working in, for, with, and on exclusively law firms, I have seen it all.

Better yet, I saw the PATTERNS...

There are consistent challenges faced by growing law firms, from marketing to hiring to leading a growth-oriented team. These challenges evolve as the firm evolves, which is why we work with the 7 Stages of Law Firm Leadership. By focusing on change we can control (how you operate as the owner), we affect change through the whole organization!

The real secret...

is NOT a marketing strategy... or management system... or goal-setting... or any one thing.

It's understanding the WHOLE BUSINESS and getting it to work in concert!

Together, we will scale your firm and produce a transformation you may see as "impossible" today. Soon, it will be your reality! 🙌

Here is what others have said:

"Charley is a rarity and truly peerless. In an industry rife with charlatans, separating the wheat from the chaff can sometimes be difficult. It's abundantly clear that he is the genuine article. Professional without preaching, Charley commands authority naturally. I listen to this man intently. He is my coach and a true friend. Charley is the type of person you want in your inner circle."

"Charley is best in class. Can't thank him enough for always bringing out the best in me. If you listen to his suggestions and then implement, you will soar."

Charley Mann

I have one simple resolution for myself in 2026.
And it's really a return to form for me...

I will spend way more time with pen and paper.

To help me do this, I bought a bunch of legal pads. I used to love writing on legal pads.

And I got a Hobonochi annual notebook.

Plus a few new pens to test out. Even some with *gasp* blue ink 😱.

I already take a decent number of paper notes, but simple ideation on paper was less in the last year. I used to free hand significant passages of writing before typing them up. That dropped off, so I'm returning to it.

It's already inspired a new podcast series (within the existing feed), got me ahead of schedule on email broadcasts, organized the next couple Catalyst sessions, and more.

Last year was just jam-packed with a lot of new, new, new - less time for slower working methods. And it was phenomenal.

But it's time to return to old habits that did so much for me. Can't wait to see how they combine their powers this year.

Coach + strategist for entrepreneurial law firm owners | Founder, Law Firm Alchemy | Co-founder, Red Kraken Creative | Host, "They Don't Teach This in Law School™️" Podcast

I know you're not supposed to post personal news on LinkedIn, but I really wanted to share this...


I just hit 1500 ELO in 10-minute rapid online chess!

High fives all around?

The chase for 1600 begins. Originally wanted to hit 1550 this year, but now it's on. Going big.

“The first answer is always a lie.”
That’s a favorite line from my friend and mentor David M. Frees III.

It’s not an accusation.

It’s a reminder:
Dig deeper.
Ask follow-ups.
Don’t settle for the first version of the story.

Another friend and mentor of mine, Brian Kurtz, a direct marketing legend, shared a belief during the pandemic that stuck with me:

In times of economic turmoil, people often spin their business numbers. Optimism, bravado, or just survival mode. Whatever the reason, he didn’t take their reports at face value.

If someone claimed 30% year-over-year growth? He mentally cut it in half.

If they reported a 10% dip in revenue? He assumed it was closer to 20%.

I’ve seen the same thing.

Sometimes the story doesn’t line up with the actual financials.

That’s not a reason to become cynical.
It's a reason to stay curious.

The best consultants, coaches, advisors, and partners don’t just take the first answer.

The real info comes when you follow up...
When you ask: “And what else?”

The more we train ourselves to listen past the surface, the better we can serve.

Everyone thinks they email too much.
I email my list 4-8 times per week.

My unsubscribe rate? Miniscule. Some weeks, zero.

A monthly email newsletter is 12 chances per year to connect with your list. And usually it's a magazine. A bunch of stories, some images, cross your fingers someone does something with it.

A weekly newsletter is 52 chances.

That's not 4x the opportunity. It's a completely different relationship.

With weekly emails, you're not doing 10 things once a month. You're doing one thing once a week.

One story. One piece of trivia. One case study. One announcement.

I don't care if you don't open every email.

Open two or three per month? Fine. You're still opening way more emails than you would from 12 monthly sends.

Deliverability improves. Click rates improve. Response rates improve.

Because the relationship improves.

The monthly newsletter says: "I feel obligated to do this."

The weekly email says: "I'm trying to show up and build something with you."

You don't need the biggest list.

You need the best list.

And the best list is built on relationships, not reach.

There's this divide between American theater and British theater.

American theater is very much about method actors. You hear about them all the time. Such as Jeremy Strong from Succession. They're very interior.

I was a stage actor. If you're very interior and you have an audience that might be 150 feet away from you, they have no clue what's going on with you as a character.

Because you're so selfish as to not try and share the journey. You forgot there's an audience out there that needs to come along for the ride.

That can work on television and movies. We're zoomed in on faces. We see intimate expressions.

But these stage actors who go method? It drives me crazy.

I'm more of a British school of thought performer. The British are taught to understand the audience. To make sure the story is told.

I did a lot of Shakespeare growing up. And one of my true points of pride is the number of times people came up to me after a Shakespeare performance and said "I actually understood what was going on when you were on stage."

That always made me so happy.

Because Shakespeare? No one can decipher the words. Unless you're well studied, you pick up on maybe 10 to 20% of the language. Everything else has to be communicated in gesture and tone.

The reason most Shakespeare monologues suck to listen to is people are all interior. Tiny little variations in tone. Very little emphasis.

I always thought if the audience doesn't understand it, it doesn't matter how I feel. 

They're the ones paying to see the show.

Many years ago, I stood on a stage and told law firm owners, "Don't make Marvel movies. Make horror movies." Put another way, stop trying to be John Morgan and start playing to your strengths.

I made that statement during the heyday of Marvel when there were massive Avengers movies, and the solo flicks were pumping out cash. But they taught the wrong business lessons. You saw companies like Warner Brothers (with the DC properties like Superman) push out movies that seemed to follow the Marvel formula but couldn't get close to the same success.

What they should have studied closer are...

Genre movies.

Especially horror movies.

As a matter of fact, if you were to invest in a film, your best bet on getting a solid return would be going in on a slasher, ghost story, or whatever other sub-genre you want within horror.

And for you, the law firm owner, learning from horror movies is a smart move.

Don't worry, this doesn't mean you need to tangle with Regan from The Exorcist or the black-haired girl coming to kill you in seven days in The Ring. Don't even need to mix it up with Freddy, Michael Myers, or Jason.

What we are interested in is the business model from studios like Blumhouse and Vertigo Entertainment.

Horror movies...

👉 know their audience
👉 embrace community marketing along with digital
👉 don't rely on star casting
👉 have a cost efficient production model
👉 and repeat their successes

Seems like a pretty good model to follow, right?

What's your favorite horror movie?
Or are you a scaredy cat like me who can't handle them?

Many years ago, while a Verizon tech was installing a router where I used to work, I decided to test something.

I asked him, “What do you think marketing is?”

He said, “Building awareness, getting your name out there.”

Then I asked, “What’s the purpose of marketing?”

He said, “Getting people to buy from you, getting clients.”

That gap is the point.

Most people treat those two answers as separate ideas.

But they don’t have to be.

One of Dan Kennedy’s biggest lessons for me was that marketing should be measured with a purpose.

That’s direct response. 

The kind that makes people do something because of your message, not just react to it.

Over time, I’ve learned to merge that with brand. To let both do the same job.

Because the truth is, the best marketing isn’t either/or.

It’s measurable and memorable.
It drives results and builds reputation.

I’ve worked in environments that were so obsessed with direct response, they ignored the long-term value of brand.

That’s why my one absolute is that I don’t do absolutes.

The best marketers hold two ideas in mind at once:
Direct response and brand.
Sales and storytelling.
Data and instinct.

As F. Scott Fitzgerald said:

“The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in mind at the same time and still maintain the ability to function.”

That’s the real skill.

Not picking sides but combining both.

Monday law firm growth puzzle... how quick do you arrive at the answer?
SCENARIO: Law firm revenue is up. But new consults are the same over the last couple years. And close rate is DOWN a good bit. What's going on?

Additional piece of info, inspired by Casey Byrus inquiring: it's an estate planning firm.

Let me know your answer/suspicions.

And also...
should I make this a regular Monday installment on LinkedIn?

🎩 tip to Gyi Tsakalakis, who I've seen post far more mind-boggling digital conundrums.

You can learn all the marketing tactics and ideas.
Buy all the cool tools. Load up on nifty gear.
But it's not going to help until you do the basics right.

The best running shoes don't fix the fact that you need to learn basic pacing.

The fanciest tablesaw doesn't mean your joinery will come together.

The greatest AI writer doesn't change you not knowing your audience's wants and needs.

Get to work on the basics.

Prediction: Substack is going to get overrun by spammers, just like what happened to Beehiiv. They buy lists, upload them to the service, then blast everyone on the list, piggybacking on the host's servers.

That's why you need to build your own email list.

Not saying you can't/shouldn't use Substack.
I'm good with using multiple platforms.
Ride that wave 🏄‍♂️ while you can.

But I'm starting to get emails through the platform that are clearly bought/scraped lists. That can hurt the deliverability of the service overall as more of it gets marked as spam.

Make sure you get set up through a proper email service provider (ESP).

Then, nurture that list with frequent, regular emails.

And if you need help/advice, it's what we do at Red Kraken Creative from setup to full send. All of it. Happy to answer any questions folks have!

If any of my lawyer friends haven't been in a room online or offline with Tony Albrecht, do this. Seriously. Make the time on your calendar.

Taking lawyers from invisible to unforgettable on LinkedIn | “The Yoda of LinkedIn” for Lawyers

This is a straight-up sales post. 
I'm running a 90-minute workshop on Jan 23. 

If you've been wondering: 
• How do these people come up with enough ideas to post this much? 
• I get what a DM IS. But who in god's name would I send one TO? And WHY? 
• How do I send DM's that other folks will actually respond to? 
• Why don't my posts break 2k impressions and theirs get 9 million?
• Using real words...Can anybody explain what a personal brand is? 
• Can I actually use this thing to get new clients? 
• Why does the stuff on my feed always seem to suck? 
• Photo? No photo? Selfie? 
• Is your beard real, Tony? 

I'm going to answer all of these questions and more during my LinkedIn Foundations workshop. 

My goal for this workshop is that you're going to get more insight into how to navigate and leverage this platform in these 90 minutes than throughout the rest of your career combined. 

Or at least I'll take a crack at it. 

The peculiar truth is that we're all ON LinkedIn because we felt like we NEEDED to create profiles for our jobs.

But we all learned LinkedIn the wrong way. 

This platform is not the place to: 
• look for jobs
• stash your digital resume, and 
• share firm press releases. 

I mean, you can do all those things here. But that's just scratching the surface. 

What I discovered back in 2022 (and have spent the last 4 years studying every day) is that when you understand some basic principles about how energy and attention move out here, leveraging the platform to attract attention and create opportunities gets—I won't say easy—let's say readily doable. 

I've been playing around with the 4 foundational P's: 
• presenting (how you show up) 
• positioning (where you sit in the network vis a vis everybody else—this matters a ton)
• posting (you know this one), and 
• participating (DM's, comments, and so on). 

I've generated more than $1M in revenue directly from LinkedIn. 
I've worked with a bunch of the best-known lawyers on this platform.
I've studied this game from dozens of vantage points while amassing 70M + views. 
I've helped generate referrals, hires, clients, speaking opportunities, and an invite to the Bachelorette. 

And yet, I've spent 3x as long ignoring this platform during my career as an attorney as I have leveraging it as....whatever it is I am now. ;-) 

I'm designing this workshop with entrepreneurial lawyers in mind, but the ground we'll cover will apply across a lot of different industries. 

It's at noon EST on Friday, Jan 23rd. 

You can register here: 
https://lnkd.in/efZncmZe

Cost is $167. If you're strapped for cash due to circumstance or geography but really want to be in this zoom room, DM me. I'll bet we can work it out. 

7 of the 25 spots are already locked down. 

Let me know if you've got questions, and thanks for reading this far. 

You got any burning questions about LinkyLand?

Is Sam Darnold as good a quarterback as Tom Brady? A stat popped off the page while reading coverage on the Seahawks winning 13-3 over the 49ers in Week 17 of the NFL...

According to NFL Research: "Sam Darnold (14-3 with Minnesota last season) joined Tom Brady (2003-2004) as the only quarterbacks in NFL history to win at least 14 games in consecutive seasons."

Sounds impressive.

And it is... but context is required.

Sam Darnold needed on extra game in each season to hit the 14 wins. And this year, his 14th win came in the last week of the year. Brady only had 16 weeks. He could lose twice. Darnold could lose three times.

Not a huge deal, but it is a moving of the proverbial goalpost. And you wouldn't tolerate this kind of data slop in your law firm, right?

Imagine if your team signed up 25 of 50 leads this month. And then next month, you also singed up 25... out of 62 leads. If all you counted was total sign-ups, things might look good. But percentage-wise, it's not as impressive. In theory, you have signed up 31 clients.

Context matters with data.

It allows us to investigate and solve the real problems.

In the above example, a few things could turn out to be true.

1. Your intake team flopped on conversions.
2. The extra leads were junk volume.
3. Historically, you normally have a 40% close rate of leads to clients, so 50% (when you signed 25 of 50) was unusually good. Your 50 leads month was better than usual for conversions.

You could probably conjure up a few other scenarios explaining the gap.

The point here is you need to track the right things. You can (and this would be a whole other rant) also over-track data if your firm is smaller. It's not about tracking everything - thought that's what you hear from some big firm "gurus" who are out of touch with small firm data and economics.

Find the numbers with the greatest impact.

Track those relentlessly.

Even on the weeks you're embarrassed to admit how bad it went, track them. Those are the most important anomalies to know.

Over time, you will add more numbers to track. And the small improvements will grow in value. But don't overwhelm yourself with excess data. Focus on what moves the needle the most for you. Early on, intakes, sign-ups, and the movement of matters. Do that for a couple months. Then stack on the next couple data points.

Make fixes based on what you see.

Stay consistent.

Dial it all in.

Then expand and repeat the process. That's how "scale" is achieved.

There's a gap between exhaustion and resentment.

It's a scary place. And if the mindset dial isn't turned in the right way, it can dive off a cliff.

Here's what I see over and over with firm owners.

Early on, you're excited about sales. There's energy to it. And honestly, your energy is part of what carries the sale. People want to work with someone who's tuned in. 

Then you do that for a year. Two years. Three years.

And you go... I don't know that I want to do a fourth year of this. My energy feels spent. I'm finally recognizing it.

That's exhaustion.

But you also have a family to feed. Team members you've added. Technology to pay for.

So you dip back into a well that has just about run dry.

Right there. That's the moment.

If we don't have the conscious ability to say "I'm exhausted, so I need to find new energy for this"... if we don't find books, training, coaching, a peer group that helps us either get over it or add novelty back into the process or reconnect with our big Why...

We will hit resentment.

And resentment is where it really gets dangerous.

I've seen this over and over across so many businesses. Over time, people stop trying to figure out what all they can do. They start focusing on how little they can get away with.

They inevitably reach a point where they can't get away with it anymore.

And they become frustrated. Not with themselves (which they should). They get frustrated with the audience. The market. All these externalities.

When it's an internal problem.

You forgot your Why. You're taking your audience for granted.

One of the core values in Law Firm Alchemy is love. You have to find love again for the people you aim to serve.

If the love is gone, resentment fills the gap.

It's like in marriages. When love is gone, resentment often replaces it. Marital therapists consider resentment the death knell for a marriage if it's not rapidly dealt with. Because it sets in and it festers.

Same thing in business.

If we have this gap between exhaustion and resentment, I pray I can be there in that space. Before it lands in resentment.

Because once it sets in? Getting out is really, really hard.

How a bunch of parents feel this week in regions unequipped to handle real snowfall (like where I am, Northern Virgnia).... I can't imagine how much harder it is for people who don't have flexibility.

My wife and I can navigate this better than most. She works part-time as a nurse, and I am my own boss.

I went sledding with my kids between knocking out tasks.

Made them hot chocolate.

Had time to make them lunch and play some card games.

Yes, that comes with its own stress. You feel the pull between work and just enjoying time with your kids. Of course, they're not this age forever. But I have things I want to achieve. All in all, I get to build and live a darn cool life.

Even if I wish the plowing system and schools could get their act together...

"Should we combine pre-lit and litigation?"
That was on the menu with a law firm owner yesterday.

His firm is scaling up its talent pool.

And they're thinking about the best system to put those people into.

Should the departments be split?
Or should case managers see cases through from start to finish?

Here's what I've seen...

Most personal injury firms are all-in-one until about $1.5-2 million in revenue. That's when some make the split. No surprise, because that's when you have enough people to create that specialization.

Interestingly...

Some of those same firms reverse course and re-combine around $4-6 million in revenue. They don't want to have departments anymore, preferring to silo matters with attorneys and their assigned case manager(s) who shepherd cases from start to finish. It feels easier to hire a lawyer, pair him or her with a case manager, and move cases to them.

And then...

Some go back to departments as they get into the eight figure territory.

So...

What's the right choice?

No one like this answer, but...
it depends.

👉 What's your vision for the firm?
👉 How do cases usually resolve based on your ideal client, current systems, and general market conditions?
👉 Do you like managing talent or systems more?
👉 Are you open to shifting gears based on new information gained down the road?

There's plenty of additional nuance, as well.

All of that to say...

Running a law firm is complicated.

But the good news is...
there's no one way to build it.

Study good models. Match them against your strengths and vision. Find mentors and coaches to help you see the field even more and to challenge and hone your vision even more. Then proceed with confidence. Work hard to get it right. And along the way, you may learn it's not what you really wanted. That's okay. You can change course.

Have you ever changed your law firm's business model?

Frustrated by the open rate for your law firm's newsletter?
Here are three big issues to fix first...

At Red Kraken Creative, we send over 94,000 emails per week for our law firm clients.

These are the first things we work on to improve open rates...

1: Your DNS records aren't set up right.

Boring, but it's an issue.
SPF, DKIM, DMARC.
If they're wrong, you're in the spam box.

2: Bad list management.

Run your list through a spam trap identifier.
Especially for bigger lists, regularly cull the unengaged.

3: Boring topics.

Dull info means dull subject lines.
People stop opening... because why would they?
Spice it up.
Show your personality.

Also...

Don't panic so much about open rates. It's something to work on, not something to be scared of. 

And if you want some help getting your email newsletter out the door, let's talk.

Monday law firm business puzzle 🧩. SCENARIO: Owner had a record setting year for profit. However, his personal financials don't seem to reflect this record. What likely happened to create this gap?

It's a personal injury law firm.

What is your answer, suspicion, and/or thought process?

taplio

The Battle

Leah Miller, MBA

Charley Mann

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The Battle

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Charley Mann

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Likes

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