Why Do You Need a Mission Statement?

In a recent conversation with a group of lawyers, someone asked why should have a mission statement.  Here's a brief of discussion of why I think it’s important to have vision and mission statements, and how I define those terms. 

A lot of law practices develop 'by accident’ rather than by design.  Often lawyers take whatever work comes in the door because they are afraid of giving up or turning away work.  This can lead to a haphazard practice, sometimes with clients or matters the firm either doesn’t like or doesn’t feel completely confident or comfortable handling.  Some firms overextend themselves into practice areas in which they have little interest, knowledge or experience. All of this adds to stress and creates a feeling of being overwhelmed or directionless (not to mention possible issues of malpractice or ethical violations).  Even those that have well defined practices often aren't sure whether they are running the firm or vice versa.  Many question why they're doing what they're doing.

Creating vision and mission statements provides a direction and a purpose for the firm. Take some time to think about the vision for your firm, and write down both the vision that you want to create and the mission for your practice.  Writing down these two statements, which don’t have to be long (and can actually be counterproductive if they’re too long), creates a tangible reminder that you can continue to refer back to. 

The vision is the statement of what you are building – what you want your firm to be in the future.  The vision should be as specific as possible and can include things like culture and atmosphere as well as financial goals, size and location of offices and areas of practice.

Brainstorm and be as expansive as possible when creating your vision statement.  Don't edit yourself when you conceive of your initial vision.  You can always distill it down, if necessary.  Ask yourself if you could do anything, what would you provide for your clients?  What do you want their experience with your firm to be like? 

The misison statement  illustrates how the firm intends to achieve its vision on a day to day basis.   It demonstrates why clients will hire you to represent them. Your mission statement will convey to clients and potential clients the essence of your firm and the manner in which you do business. 

The mission statement can be a powerful way to strengthen the infrastructure of your business and to attract and keep the clients you want.  To be effective, the mission statement should be unique and reflect your firm's personality.  If the mission statement rings true if you substitute the name of another lawyer or law firm, your mission statement is probably too generic or too vague. 

There are three major prongs to consider when writing a mission statement: purpose (why the firm exists), business (the firm's clients and practice areas) and values. 

Use the vision and mission statements a guiding principles against which you measure each of the firm’s activities and strategies, from practice areas to marketing to client service.  Rather than the practice developing on its own, with no clear direction, work backwards from where you want to go and and figure out how to get there.  Make your practice what you want it to be.  Begin to craft your practice in a more purposeful way and create action plans.  Ultimately, those plans will bring the firm to its destination – the attainment of the firm’s vision.

It is important to remember that writing these statements will be of no use whatsoever unless you believe in them and actually implement them.  You and your firm must be willing to commit to these ideas and to allow your practice to revolve around them.  They should be your touchstone and remind you of the reasons why you're practicing law in the first place.

To read more about vision and mission statements, you can read my article entitled, "How To Take Control of Your Practice by Creating Vision and Mission Statements" in the February 2006 GP/Solo publication, Law Trends and News.