How Lawyers Prepare for the End of the Year: PART 2

From the desk of Natalie Lubbe.

As you start to drag out the old Christmas decorations from storage, ready for them to go up in all their jolly glory, you start to reflect on how quickly this year has almost come and gone.

Before you are even able to complete last year’s New Years resolutions it will almost be time to make some new ones – if you believe in that sort of thing.

And so, you make yourself a cup of tea – for it fixes everything – and you resign yourself to the fact that yes, the end (of the year) is nigh and it’s time to get festive.

It’s time to put up the tinsel, haul out the ginger and spice candles and smile and wave your way to the end of the year.

And if that’s not going to cut it for you, perhaps being a little more practical will be your thing. That means that you will need to take certain steps to ensure that you end the year on the right note while still preparing for the new year with the same vigour and – let’s face it – festivity.

And that’s a fine balance. Especially at the end of the year when your energy levels are running grinchingly, low.

So, instead of giving you a generic list of the things you ought to do at this time of year – because that would be a very Grinch thing to do – we thought we would approach some law firms who we believe are at the top of their legal tech games. Not only that, but they are law firms who we believe have leaders at their helms whom we should all sit up and take notice of.

The second in this three-part series is Natalie Lubbe of NLA Legal.

From the Desk of Natalie Lubbe 

When we decided to approach the law firms who have really made an impression on us at AJS, instead of randomly asking them “how do you prepare for the end of the year and start making plans for the new year?”, we thought we would be a little more specific, try and whittle down such an open ended question into something more laser focused.

So, we sent through 5 questions, and this was Natalie’s response –

1.   Reflecting on the past year, what was the most important lesson learned that will directly influence your strategy for 2026? 

“2025 was an incredibly tough year for businesses in most industries, and there wasn’t a single foreseeable event that could have prepared business for the difficult business conditions we’ve all experienced. The lesson to take from that is to always expect the unexpected, and to make sure your business is resilient enough to withstand everything but the most cataclysmic events (and even these). My strategy for 2026 will focus on that – business resilience. I can’t speak for all attorneys, but we will be pivoting our business models from hourly billing. We must build businesses that work (for the most part) independently of people and time. AI has made that a lot more possible than ever before.”

2.   What’s one specific year-end ritual or process you’ve implemented that has significantly improved how your firm operates or plans for the new year? 

“It’s become very clear that the firm’s health depends on the health of the people in it. I ask every team member to set some personal and professional goals for the new year. The idea is to encourage our people to live and work intentionally. As long as they align with NLA’s core values, each team member’s professional goals will inform NLA’s strategies over the short term and will lay the foundation for medium term strategies. I think this approach makes everyone feel that they are part of something bigger and worth working towards.”

3.   Beyond financial reconciliations, what are your ‘non-negotiables’ in the last quarter? This could include client check-ins, pricing reviews, matter triage etc. 

“It is imperative that some time and effort is spent in Q4 of 2025 to ensure that we are ready to roll in the new year, without hiccups and inefficiencies, when we open for business. I’m trying to streamline our onboarding and FICA verification processes (which are a huge pain point for me at the moment), and I want them to work for us as soon as our doors open in 2026. This includes a review of our terms of engagement and pricing models, especially with the intention to pivot some of our business away from hourly billing. Client engagement is always a priority, but I want to level up on this in 2026. I’ll be spending some time between now and January setting up more real time reporting structures so that our clients can see exactly what is happening on their matters, when they happen. I want to completely eliminate those “could we get an update on our matter” emails that come in every now and again.”

4.   How do you use the December period to set your team up for success in January, both in terms of morale and operational readiness? 

“I have so many ideas that will just make NLA so much better than it already is, and December gives me a chance to really focus on how to prioritise and implement those ideas. I don’t need to re-invent the wheel, but I do need time to experiment and test the wheel on my vehicle. I really enjoy learning new skills, but skills can’t be         developed properly without the time and freedom to do so. I love our clients but not having the normal pressure to deliver work to them, frees me up to have fun with the business of running a law firm. There is a big difference between working IN your business and working ON your business. December gives me the opportunity to work ON my business truly and fully. When we open our doors again in January, my team will hopefully have some new tools at their disposal that makes doing their jobs a little easier and perhaps more fun. It can’t be black, white, and grey all the time – colour is called for, even if that colour comes in the form of business efficiency tools.”

5.   What is one experiment you’re running for the new year (e.g. a new staffing model, an AI tool, a pricing structure) and how will you judge its success by Q1 in 2026? 

“I don’t like to call new team members an experiment, but we’ve recently employed someone as a “Change Agent”. The job description is difficult to put into words, but basically he must implement the ideas I have and which I never have time to implement myself – well, only the good ideas, not the crazy ones (although I acknowledge that some crazy ideas could turn into good ones).  And these ideas could be anything from automation to marketing to client experience – the list is limitless. I think it’s going to make business more fun – not only for the NLA team, but also for our clients. Inasmuch as the job description is difficult to explain, its success is even more difficult to measure. On an objective basis, I’d love to see at least two new ideas implemented and form part of NLA’s fabric. Subjectively, the measure is even more difficult to quantify – smiles from staff and clients, people loving to come to work and to work with us, a culture centred on our clients and delivering solutions that make their lives better.”     

  

As we said at the outset – pearls of wisdom from leaders of law firms that you will want to sit up and take notice of.

Will you take a leaf out of Natalie’s book and relook at how you approach the billable hour?

Will you make your teams personal and professional goals part of your firms’ strategies? Will you make your team feel like they are part of something bigger? Part of the family?

How are your onboarding and FICA verification processes? Will you look to streamline them in 2026 – as you may be aware, this is an area where AJS can support your firm 100%.

How will you end 2025? And what plans will you start implementing for 2026? We hope that Natalie’s insights will provide some much-needed food for thought.

In the meantime, if you are in need of a service provider who has a proven track record or if you want to find out how to incorporate a new tool into your existing practice management suite – or if you simply want to get started with legal tech – feel free to get in touch with AJS. We have the right combination of systems, resources, and business partnerships to assist you with incorporating supportive legal technology into your practice. Effortlessly.

AJS is always here to help you, wherever and whenever possible!

– Written by Alicia Koch on behalf of AJS