10 mistakes that cost advocates money – webinar

An advocate may work long hours, have a constant caseload, and yet still find themselves in the red. The reason is often not a lack of clients, but rather mistakes in how the practice is organized: improper pricing, a lack of specialization, failure to track expenses, and neglecting delegation and rest.

Advocate Tetyana Lezhukh spoke about these mistakes in legal practice during a webinar hosted by the UNBA. The event was initiated by Kateryna Tomay, a representative of the UNBA NextGen in the Vinnytsia region.

T. Lezhukh emphasized that this is not about business and KPIs, but about daily habits in legal practice that affect income.

1. A lack of understanding of how much services should actually cost. The speaker advised tracking all expenses for at least three months, calculating the number of working hours, and determining a base hourly rate. According to her, an hour of an advocate’s time cannot cost less than this threshold.

2. A willingness to take on all types of legal services. The advocate noted that at the beginning of one’s practice, it is indeed necessary to try one’s hand at various fields, but later on, it is advisable to choose one or at most two specializations. Otherwise, a significant portion of time is spent delving into new areas and preparing for consultations that do not always lead to full-fledged collaboration.

3. Lack of understanding of one’s target audience. An advocate must determine exactly who they are working for, what needs this audience has, and what they are interested in reading or seeing in professional communications. Working «for everyone» disperses efforts and prevents you from clearly standing out among other specialists.

4. Lack of income and expense tracking. It is important to understand how much an advocate actually earns, how much they spend, which services generate the most revenue, and which areas can be gradually phased out. Tracking also helps identify expenses that can be eliminated. For example, if an office costs more than it generates from in-person consultations, the advocate must decide whether such an expense is justified.

5. Failure to delegate technical tasks. This refers to situations where an advocate personally handles tasks that could be delegated to an assistant: mailing correspondence, technical preparation of documents, some administrative work, or specific tasks related to managing social media. The speaker advised conducting an audit of the workday for at least a week, determining where time is spent, and identifying tasks that can be delegated to an assistant.

6. Lack of rest. T. Lezhukh called this an unobvious mistake for those who have not yet experienced professional burnout. According to her, rest should become part of the work routine and be scheduled just like court hearings. This refers not only to vacation but also to sleep, exercise, and activities that truly restore one’s energy.

7. Lack of strategic goals. Many advocates work at the same pace for years: they get their license, open an office, handle cases, but generally don’t change anything. If there are issues with pricing or workflow organization, an advocate may work at a loss for a long time and accumulate fatigue. Therefore, it’s important to have a vision for at least six months and understand what skills and steps are needed to achieve those goals.

8. Lack of understanding of what clients think about an advocate’s work. The problem arises when, after a consultation or a completed assignment, the client disappears, and the advocate doesn’t know why. The speaker emphasized that feedback helps reveal less obvious aspects: the quality of communication, the client’s comfort, the clarity of explanations, and the overall experience of interaction.

9. Failure to adjust service rates in a timely manner. Advocates sometimes work for years at old rates, failing to account for inflation, currency fluctuations, their own growing experience, or professional achievements. She advised addressing this issue at least once a year.

10. Expenses exceeding income. The speaker linked this problem to the lack of systematic record-keeping. In such cases, an advocate may work a lot but actually remain in the red, burn out, and mistakenly believe that the problem lies with advocacy itself, when in reality it is a matter of an inability to manage financial flows.

Concluding her speech, T. Lezhukh emphasized that changes in legal practice begin with a change in one’s approach to oneself. «We cannot solve our problems with the same mindset that created them. Therefore, if we want change, we must change our approaches; we must change something in our work», - she summarized.