Amanda Koplos | How Legal Administrators Help Unlock Your Law Firm’s Potential

Amanda Koplos is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Central Florida-based law firm Shuffield, Lowman & Wilson. She has 20 years of experience in various law firm leadership positions and currently serves as the president of the Association of Legal Administrators (ALA). ALA is a premier professional association with 9,500 members that exists to connect, educate, and empower leaders and managers within the legal industry. In her spare time, Amanda is also the co-host of The Mostly Legal Podcast. The show is dedicated to bringing awareness to the legal management profession through chats with the heroes of high-performing law firms. WHAT’S COVERED IN THIS EPISODE ABOUT LEGAL ADMINISTRATORS UNLOCKING YOUR LAW FIRM’S POTENTIAL Today’s law firm leaders know that running a law firm requires more than simply hiring skilled attorneys and doing superior legal work. The challenge is that most lawyers weren’t taught the skills necessary to run a modern law firm, particularly in a highly competitive marketplace. Enter professional legal administrators… In this episode of The Lawyer’s Edge podcast, Elise Holtzman and her guest Amanda Koplos, President of the Association of Legal Administrators (ALA) and COO of Shuffield, Lowman & Wilson, explore the many positive impacts made by legal administrative professionals, from economics to culture. Amanda shares best practices in running a law firm and details actionable advice for law firm leaders who are truly ready to run a law firm like a business. 1:22 - What the legal management profession is all about and how Amanda’s role has changed 7:10 - Shifts on the horizon and why technology is no longer a mere tool but a crucial component of law firm operations 14:36 - Advice for anyone wanting to enter legal management or wanting to hire a legal manager 20:21 - Who typically joins the Association of Legal Administrators and reasons to become a member 23:45 - Essential skills and attributes to look for in legal managers you want to hire (particularly in small to mid-sized firms) 27:45 - How lawyers can make a legal manager’s job easier and the benefit for smaller firms in hiring fractional COOs or consultants 32:42 - The curse of looking at your law firm as a business MENTIONED IN HOW LEGAL ADMINISTRATORS HELP UNLOCK YOUR LAW FIRM’S POTENTIAL Association of Legal Administrators (ALA) | Legal Management Magazine | Become a Certified Legal Manager (CLM) Shuffield, Lowman & Wilson Amanda Koplos on LinkedIn The Mostly Legal Podcast Bowman and Brooke LLP Ditch the Billable Hour! Implementing Value-Based Pricing in a Law Firm by Shaun Jardine “Shaun Jardine | Stop Billing Hours! Why and How to Embrace Value Pricing” Legal Marketing Association (LMA) | International Legal Technology Association (ILTA) NYC Coc Steering Committee Get Connected with The Coaching Team at hello@thelawyersedge.com The Lawyer’s Edge SPONSOR FOR THIS EPISODE… Today’s episode is brought to you by the coaching team at The Lawyer’s Edge, a training and coaching firm which has been focused exclusively on lawyers and law firms since 2008.  Each member of The Lawyer’s Edge coaching team is a trained, certified, and experienced professional coach AND either a former practicing attorney or a former law firm marketing and business development professional. Whatever your professional objectives, our coaches can help you achieve your goals more quickly, more easily, and with significantly less stress.  To get connected with YOUR coach, just email the team at hello@thelawyersedge.com.