Every attorney I know has reinvented their practice at least once, whether by choice or because the market forced their hand. Some come out of it stronger. Others just end up tired and back where they started. Here’s what separates the two.
1. They build a brand that’s actually theirs.
When I built the branding for Power Up Your Practice, I realized how much thought goes into a logo, a color palette, a tone of voice. It’s not just “what looks nice.” It starts with distilling what your business actually stands for, the same work I talk about in identifying your mission and vision. Attorneys who reinvent well do that work first, then let the branding follow. The ones who skip it end up with a firm that looks like every other firm in their practice area.
2. They let go of what isn’t working, even when it’s familiar.
Tasks stay mostly the same over a career. Tools and processes don’t. I think about how home internet speeds had to catch up before Netflix could pivot from mailing DVDs to streaming. Firms are no different. Holding onto a case management system, a marketing channel, or a practice area out of habit isn’t loyalty, it’s inertia. The attorneys who reinvent successfully audit their tools and processes regularly and aren’t sentimental about replacing what’s outdated.
3. They face the fear instead of managing around it.
A lot of senior attorneys delay succession planning or a practice pivot because their work has become tangled up with their identity. I see this constantly with retirement planning: the fear isn’t really about the transition, it’s about who they are without the title. Attorneys who reinvent well name that fear directly instead of building their whole strategy around avoiding it.
4. They give themselves room to try things that might not work.
Rebranding takes iteration. When we worked through logo concepts, we didn’t land on the right one first, or even second. Attorneys who successfully reinvent expect some of what they try to miss, whether that’s a new practice area, a marketing format, or a service model, and they treat that as part of the process rather than a sign they chose wrong.
5. They actually learn from the last version of their firm.
It’s easy to relaunch a brand, a website, or a marketing plan and call it reinvention when really it’s the same approach with a new coat of paint. Attorneys who get this right can point to something specific from their last iteration that didn’t work and name what they’re doing differently this time.
6. They surround themselves with people ahead of where they want to be.
Connectors, mavens, and people with broad networks move ideas forward faster than anyone working alone. The attorneys I see grow the most stay close to peers, mentors, and mastermind groups who are already doing what they want to build next, not just people in their existing circle.
7. They move early on the things everyone else is still watching.
Every wave of legal tech, AI included, has innovators and early adopters who start experimenting before it’s proven out. The attorneys who reinvent well tend to be in that group. They’re testing the tool or the workflow while their peers are still debating whether it’s a fad.
8. They stay a little playful about it.
I like games. Firms that treat every decision as high stakes and permanent get stuck fast. The ones that experiment, with a new intake process, a new content format, a new way of talking about their services, without treating it as a make-or-break bet tend to find what works faster, precisely because they’re not gripping it so tightly.
Reinventing a practice isn’t about picking a new aesthetic and marching toward it. It’s closer to what worked for the book itself: distill what you stand for, expect some iterations to miss, and keep moving.
