The Sterling Family Law Show
The Sterling Family Law Show is where successful family law attorneys share the exact systems they used to build million-dollar practices.
Host Jeff Hughes scaled Sterling Lawyers from zero to $17M with 27 attorneys.
Co-host Tyler Dolph runs Rocket Clicks, the agency in charge of supercharging Sterling and other family law practices to success using revenue-first marketing strategies.
Together, they share the playbook for building the law firm of your dreams.
If you're looking to grow exponentially, generate revenue, and get good at business, this podcast is for you.
The Sterling Family Law Show
How to Scale Beyond Your Solo Law Practice Limitations - #164
Solo law practice owners hit a ceiling fast - but Christina cracked the code to 50% yearly growth. Here's her system.
Most solo attorneys think they need partners to scale, but Christina proves that wrong. She went from lacking confidence to building small law firm systems that generated consistent family law firm growth without sacrificing her attorney work life balance.
The legal practice management strategies she shares about the law firm hiring process and putting family first changed everything for her legal business coaching approach.
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📄 CHAPTERS
0:00 - Solo Law Practice Success Story: From Confidence Crisis To Growth
2:02 - Why Christina Never Worked As An Associate
4:21 - The Mentor Who Changed Her Attorney Entrepreneurship Journey
7:05 - Business Lessons That Built Her Family Law Practice
8:11 - The Partnership Mistake That Cost Her Years
9:16 - Legal Business Coaching: The Game-Changing Investment
12:52 - Solo Practitioner Challenges: Avoiding The Bottleneck Trap
14:28 - Law Firm Profitability: Putting Family First Strategy
16:46 - The Wake-Up Call That Transformed Her Legal Entrepreneur Mindset
18:00 - Attorney Business Development Advice For New Firm Owners
21:15 - Scaling Beyond Solo: Hiring Senior Family Law Attorneys
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It took Christina a few years to gain the confidence to go out on her own and start her own family law firm, but once she did, she experienced the success of growth and profitability and has grown her firm by almost 50% every year she's been in business. You are going to love her story. Welcome back to the Revenue Roadmap. My name is Tyler Dolph. I am the CEO of our agency here that works exclusively with family law firms, called Rocket Clicks. We also own and operate our own family law firm called Sterling Lawyers that has grown to over 30 attorneys across 25 offices.
Speaker 1:Today we are continuing our law firm interview series and Christina has a great story. She worked at a few small firms. She partnered up with some attorneys but eventually realized she wanted to have her own thing. She wanted to put out her own shingle and when she did, she was able to leverage all that prior experience and has grown a very fast-growing law firm with now three attorneys, and her future is bright. Make sure to check it out. I hope you enjoy her story, christina. Thank you so much for being with us today. We were talking a little bit before the podcast started about the fact that you are a mom. You have two different businesses that you're trying to run all at the same time, so I'm sure life gets a little crazy. I'd love the opportunity to learn more about you. Would you introduce yourself and your law firm for our audience?
Speaker 2:Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it. My name is Christina Alvarez. I am a family lawyer in Central Florida and my law firm is C Alvarez Law.
Speaker 1:Love it. And how long have you had the law firm?
Speaker 2:It will be 11 years coming up in October.
Speaker 1:Congratulations. That's amazing. So bring us back to the beginning. What made you want to start your own firm? Were you at a big firm beforehand, or how did the origin story start?
Speaker 2:So the origin story is a little non-traditional. I actually have never been an associate anywhere, yes. So I had a mentor of mine who had his own solo practice. I was working with him as his law clerk for about two years while I was in law school, and he knew that I had an interest in family law and so he basically helped me gain the skills to become a family lawyer while I was interning. And he said listen, I you know I can't hire you, but I know that you really want to do family law and so I will help you build your firm. And in return, if you could have counsel to my family law department and handle my family law cases, and basically he said I'll teach you everything I know about business, about trials, about depots, about motion practice, handling clients, interviewing clients nothing in return except for you know, help me build my practice up and take on those cases and those clients. And that's what I did. And so I did that for about two years and then him and I actually, and a third person that I was very good friends with in law school, became partners and so each of us had our individual practice areas that we did, because he also did immigration and criminal defense, and so I kind of stayed, you know, in that family law, that family law realm, because that's where I felt comfortable.
Speaker 2:And so I kind of stayed, you know, in that family law, that family law realm, because that's where I felt comfortable and I liked it. It was exciting, you know, it was a different issue every day, and so we did that for a little while as well and then, you know, just didn't work out. We're all still very good friends today and you know we talk all the time and all that, but you know, I think it's just different visions right of how we saw the firm going. So, yeah, and then I was somewhere else for about a year, a year or so, as a non non equity partner boutique firm, and I decided that working for me was really the best, the best thing, best thing. I really enjoyed having full control of what I was going to do in my office. I mean, I do play nice with others in the sandbox when it comes to the vision of my business. That's just what it is and I've come to terms with that.
Speaker 1:And there's nothing wrong with that. I think that's great. I mean, that's why a lot of entrepreneurs start their business right is they want to be their own boss and make their own hours and do what they got to do. It was great that you had this mentor right to help teach you about building a firm and the entrepreneurial side of starting your own law firm. Were there some early lessons that he imparted on you that really helped kind of steer your ship in the right direction that you could share with us?
Speaker 2:I would say number one um to always be hustling right, that you can get clients really from anywhere, um. So you know he was big on doing that every day and making sure that he was maintaining connections with people. He was very good at listening to the clients and being compassionate with them, which you know I saw firsthand. And basically, you know, making sure that it was about the client and not so much about the lawyer, and I think that's very missed on a lot of lawyers just because the clients do tell me. Like you know, I went to speak to this lawyer and I think that's very missed on a lot of lawyers, just because the clients do tell me. Like you know, I went to speak to this lawyer but I really felt like it was about them telling me about all of their accolades and everything they've done and all the cases they want, and not really about what my specific issue was. So he was very good at that, you know, making sure that the client felt heard. The client felt like they were going to get the best representation possible.
Speaker 2:And he's just really creative, you know, like just he would get cases from all kinds of places. You know we took on not just family law cases, but some other things that I was just like, okay, I guess we're doing this. You know, in other areas of the law that like small claims cases and stuff, nothing big. But it was just interesting because I always got some interesting fact patterns and like we would go together and he would teach me how to kind of maneuver around the craziness of the courtroom. Right, because you're not. You go in there thinking, ok, one thing is going to happen. Right, you plan for that, of course, but when you're a litigation attorney, trial lawyer, like you never know what's going to come out that day. So he taught me how to be agile, how to adapt to that.
Speaker 1:What about on the business side? Anything as it relates to like well, you need to set up your payroll this way, or you need to make sure you have these software systems, yeah, actually.
Speaker 2:So yeah, he had a system for his files. I still continue to use that same system to this day in my firm because I just love it so much.
Speaker 2:We did end up having at one point, a case management practice, crm and I have a CRM, of course and that was very valuable, obviously for you know as you know for for billing and keeping invoices and all that Um and so on that end, you know, making sure that the clients understand the payment terms, um, I think is very important too, and I'm very big on that as well, and he, he definitely stressed that with them.
Speaker 1:On it? Is there, um, you know I guess you're thinking back and reflecting on the experiences you had, both from working with some partners and you know that firm eventually dissolving.
Speaker 2:Is there anything that you go back and do a little bit differently or that you're like, oh, I wish I knew this had left the first partnership with my friends, that I would have maybe just made the decision to stay solo and not have gone to the other place. I think, for me in particular, like that, that that kind of environment was not suitable for my personality, and I wish you know hindsight is 2020, right, I wish I had just taken the bet on me earlier, you know, because I think I felt like I was, you know, of course, just starting out. I think I was like four or five years into practice. You know, of course, I'm just starting out my business and, as all entrepreneurs know, like it's very hard, right, those first couple of years, cause you're doing everything, and so I don't think at that point, I had the confidence enough in myself to believe that I could do it alone, and I kind of wish I would have just taken that leap earlier, because I feel like I would be a lot further along if I had.
Speaker 2:But you know, of course, you know, everything is a learned lesson, right. So it did show me that like okay, I, I can do this right. Like I don't need anybody to come in here and validate me, right, like I can do this on my own. I'm creative. You know I'm always learning right, always learning how to be better, whether that's to be a better lawyer, better entrepreneur or better boss, and I think that's suited me very well, you know. And so since 2019, I've been back just on my law firm and I've grown almost almost 50% every year since 2019.
Speaker 1:It's amazing.
Speaker 2:Right, and so I'm like dang. I wish I would have just like taken the leap of faith on myself right earlier, but I have to do. I have to credit most of that to a business coaching program that I've been in also since 2019.
Speaker 1:And which one's that?
Speaker 2:So it's how to manage a small law firm. Um, it's a pretty big organization. It's got, I think, over 600 lawyers now across the country, most of them small or solo law firms, um, and so that's just been a really amazing community for me. Number one, because we're all there supporting each other through things that I think only entrepreneurs can understand. And number two, you know I have valuable access and insight and advice right on a daily basis. I'm not just here by myself figuring things out. I mean, you know we go to law school to be lawyers, right, I mean, no one wants, unless you have the MBA when you get there, or you do the MBA after right. But none of us are trained business owners in law school, and so that's a whole different game, and so I've had the benefit of having them guide me, you know, through some of these really challenging business decisions. That's awesome.
Speaker 1:And do they? Do they focus more on the business side of things, or is it holistic?
Speaker 2:So well holistic in terms of like the mindset stuff, which it's so interesting once you start getting into the mindset work and you realize, like how much it really does affect like every area of your life.
Speaker 2:And so they always say, like personal growth precedes professional growth, and I have to tell you that's been very true for me and so I like that aspect of it. It's not just about like the numbers and the KPIs and the hiring and the systems. It really is also about like what you're doing to feed your mind in a positive way, and also things that maybe you've been doing for years and years and years, just because maybe there were things you were taught, things you did just like survive right, that necessarily aren't helping you anymore, and things you have to shed in order to become, you know, the better lawyer, you want to be the better business owner, you want to be my case. You know I want to be the best mom I can be, I want to be the best wife I can be, and so for me that's really given me so much in terms of just growth and confidence, so that for me has been invaluable 100%.
Speaker 1:I mean the fact that you were able to gain the confidence to go out on your own and then have a support resource like this community to lean on, because I think as entrepreneurs you know, we live in highs and lows and we think we can conquer the world one day and then it's all crumbling down the next and having that support is really important.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it gets lonely, right, they say like it's lonely on the top right. So I think it's nice to just have, especially in that community of other lawyers, just people I can call or text, you know whenever, and say, hey, I'm having this problem. And some of them are a lot further along than I am, you know. And so I'm like, hey, I'm having this problem. They're like oh, I had this problem three years ago, Like, here's what you need to do. And I'm like, oh, thank God, Like, because I could go through the problem by myself. Right, I would learn something from it, of course, but if I can prevent stress and I can prevent disaster, then that's what I want to do.
Speaker 1:Oh yeah, If you can get the answer in five minutes versus five hours.
Speaker 2:Right, yeah, or like years of just torturing myself right and like banging my head up against the wall, you know. So that's been really really cool.
Speaker 1:So you took this chance on yourself. You know you, you gained the confidence to do it and now you're growing 50% every single year. What do you attribute to that growth? Like what? What are you doing that is allowing you to continue to grow? Cause, I think, as a solo um attorney, or a solo practice or a solopreneur in any, any business, um, oftentimes it's that person that becomes the bottleneck right. They can't let go, they can't delegate, they can't build process, and that actually prevents them from growing. You know, it sounds like you've been able to make that leap. What do you attribute that to?
Speaker 2:I think number one getting the right people in the right seats at the right time, and not being and like not saying I haven't done this, I have, and it was a mistake that I made. You know, I I think I didn't invest enough into, like onboarding new employees. I didn't invest enough into training them. I just thought, oh well, they're experienced, they'll know what to do. Um, and so I do take that very seriously now. You know, when I bring new employees on, sort like again sourcing the right talent, because I think sometimes what happens with us is we're like, okay, we have 150 cases. Oh man, now I need help. And then you just kind of take the first or second person that looks like they're going to throw you a lifeline, not knowing and vetting them correctly and knowing, okay, are they going to be here for the long before it happens? Is is ideal, right. So staffing before you actually need it you know if it's where it's going to be profitable for you but not being so desperate and freaking out in that moment like, oh my God, I don't have enough staff to handle this, these 150 cases, like let me just go find whoever. So I've been very strategic about that as well and I'm going to be just really transparent, putting my dreams and my goals and myself and my family first, because I'm a very, very compassionate person.
Speaker 2:I might my staff will tell you you know I do a lot for them. They do a lot for me in return, right, and I am like very, you know, very, um, humanitarian, I guess is the word Right, and I love people and I have a heart for people. That's why I practice family law. You know, I don't think you can practice family law and not have a heart for people. Um, but you know, I think for me I did that a lot to my detriment, especially my business. You know I would put other people and other ideas or what they wanted to do or how they saw the firm going right before my myself and my comfort and my stress level right, Like trying to bring my stress level down. So that has been something that I think about on the daily. You know, when I make decisions I'm like, okay, I got to do this for me and my family first and foremost. Right, I got to make sure that this benefits myself, my family and then the firm as a whole.
Speaker 1:So having your priorities in order.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. And especially, I became a mom. I mean that shot right up to the top list of the list, right. And so you know the attention I was giving to people training with me, right. I couldn't do that anymore because now I have a little girl, you know, depending on me for everything. You know I'm staying up all hours of the night, you know, trying to be a mom, and then working in the morning and dealing with my clients, and so I had to really prioritize my life and I had to prioritize my family first, and I wasn't doing that before.
Speaker 1:Good for you? Yeah, Was it? Was your having your daughter that kind of catalyst moment that made you kind of reflect?
Speaker 2:Yes, I have a friend who's actually an HTM with me. She's very successful family lawyer in South Florida. She's a mom, wife, the whole thing too. And I remember calling her, just like freaking out, you know, so tired and you know months if you have kids, months and months of like staying up at night and you're like when is this ever gonna end? And you don't know, and it's just you know growing the firm right really quickly, wasn't like I was doing it little by little.
Speaker 2:No, I was like on the treadmill going, and so I remember calling her and just being like I have this problem. And she was like Christina, every dollar that like isn't coming into your firm, like is being taken out of your daughter's mouth, like do you understand? And I was like, oh, like. When she put it that way, I was like, yeah, I can't just let employees slide on whatever you know on their KPIs and just be like all right, thanks for doing me the favor Right. Like this is a business. You know, this is, this is my livelihood, this is how I feed my family.
Speaker 1:And it's how they feed their families too, which is oftentimes you got to remind them.
Speaker 2:Correct, correct.
Speaker 1:And so you know, for me, I was like oh my God, like yes, right, I can't just be throwing money out the window on whatever, on vendors, on employees, on trainings, whatever, because that is, that is money that's really coming out of my daughter's life, right, her college fund, you know, whatever private school I'd like to put her in, I mean, it's affecting her lifestyle. Well said, 100%, that's powerful. So, christina, as we're kind of like ending here or finishing up, I think about the person who's just behind you, right, the generation behind you, someone who is at either a large firm or thinking about starting their own firm what piece of advice could you offer to them as they're taking the next step in their career path?
Speaker 2:So I think, number one, you have to believe in yourself, even when everybody at the table is going that's a crazy idea. Why would we do that? If you feel very passionate and convicted about that idea, then you have to believe in yourself and bet on yourself and believe in that vision and hold that vision close to your heart and be, I guess, just like unshakable about it, basically like, hey, no, this is my vision, this is what we're going to do. You get on board or you don't. Like, this is my vision, this is what we're going to do. You get on board or you don't. And unfortunately, that happens when you're growing firms, right, because, like in the coaching program, they say, well, people who are with you at 500,000 or who are with you at 250,000 aren't going to be with you at the million sometimes Sometimes, because people sometimes want to hold on to what was good.
Speaker 2:And if it was good, why would we change it? And so for me, I can tell you, like just being headstrong about that and just being like no, this is my idea, this is my vision, this is how I see my firm going. This is what I want to do. Um has been number one, but two, to be humble, because I think people think this is a lot easier than it is, because it looks pretty right. Right, it looks nice on Instagram. It looks great when you get the awards. I'm on this podcast, right? Oh, she's on this podcast. But I think you do have to be humble and realize you don't know everything.
Speaker 1:That's okay.
Speaker 2:Right and I know for me, as long as I'm a lawyer, as long as I'm an entrepreneur. I'm going to rely on other people and their advice and kind of take from their story and also things that they're doing. Great, you know, I take notes of that. I don't think that I know everything, and so I think sometimes on the younger generation, that's a little lost you know, just to kind of be curious and stay humble.
Speaker 1:We say it all the time at our firm and in our agency that, like asking for help is the most underrated skill that successful people have. They're okay and confident enough to say hey, I don't know this, I'm either going to go figure it out or I'm going to find someone who already knows it so I can get. Get there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, of course you know when you're an attorney, the mentors do tell you hey, don't come here with a bunch of questions. First Make sure that you research the issue and then come to me and say, hey, I've done X, y and Z and I cannot find the answer. Like, is there somewhere else I should be looking? Do you have any ideas? Like am I in the right place? I think taking the initiative is important, but you're right, Like asking, asking for help, asking the questions.
Speaker 1:You don't know everything. And that's yeah, I agree Totally. I'm so thankful for your story, for this opportunity to learn more about you and your firm. Tell us about the future. You know you've been growing really fast. Is that is the plan to continue to see how large you can grow your firm, or do you have kind of aspirations to slow that growth down?
Speaker 2:No, I don't have any aspirations to slow the growth down. I am always, at all times, my staff will tell you this pedal to the metal as far as we can go, as fast as we can go, and so you know that's, that is what I've been doing and that's what I continue to plan to do. But you know, however, I have opened up another new business, which is an online boutique, because I love fashion and I have an interest in that's kind of my side hobby, and so you know, I'd like to kind of get into that space as well, as I'm putting the right players into my, in my firm, to not have to be the one handling the cases on a day-to-day basis, and so, yeah, I'm doing that too.
Speaker 1:That'll be another big entrepreneurial leap of totally replacing yourself within the business.
Speaker 2:Yes, and that's what I'm looking to do. So I am hiring a senior attorney, family law experience. I've been looking for about six months now, so I'm being very picky about who this person is, but I do want the next you know senior family law attorney to really be somebody that's going to stay with me long term and, you know, help the firm grow to the next level.
Speaker 1:That's great. Well, if you're listening to this and you know anyone, make sure to reach out to Christina. Christina, I am so thankful for your time. I look forward to having you back on as you continue to move through this entrepreneurial and law firm owner journey, and we'll look forward to talking to you soon.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much. It's been really lovely. Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1:If you enjoyed this episode, make sure to continue to follow us as we continue our interview series with successful law firm owners all across the country. We did a really great interview last week that you're going to want to check out right here.
