As the year comes to an end, many people focus on new year’s resolutions—ways to improve their lives in the coming year. For some, this may be a resolution to get healthier in the new year. Others may try to focus on family or travel or on breaking a bad habit. Lawyers can also use this time to assess their practices and consider ways for improvement. The practice of law is a very busy profession, with many demands on lawyers’ time. Thus, the new year can be a great opportunity to assess one’s practice and evaluate areas for growth.

Here are some new year’s resolutions lawyers can consider for 2025.

Improve Awareness of Scams

Lawyers and firms are required to safeguard client confidences. That means that a law firm’s computer network not only protects confidential information belonging to employees (such as addresses or Social Security numbers) but also maintains a trove of information belonging to clients (such as internal business information or confidential strategy). Law firms should take steps to protect access to their computer networks to prevent unwanted disclosure. Some lawyers aren’t careful enough about cybersecurity, thinking that perhaps their work is not high profile enough to warrant a targeted phishing attack. But the data suggests otherwise—any firm size can be a target of a phishing attack and information can be valuable to hackers even where the firm does not represent the Fortune 500. In fact, sometimes smaller practices are the intended target because it is assumed that their networks may be vulnerable.

For 2025, firms can consider enacting specific protocols to help rebut cyberattacks, such as two-factor identification when employees need to access the network when working remotely. Another option is to provide training to employees on how to identify phishing emails. Indeed, phishing attacks can look quite sophisticated and mirror emails from internal colleagues, increasing the likelihood of an attack working.

Training can go a long way.

Taking these threats seriously can also benefit the firm’s relationship with its legal malpractice insurer. Insurers like to hear that the firm has taken steps to prevent or train employees to spot phishing scams, which reduces the risk of losses.

Follow Up on Collections

Collecting legal fees may be front of mind for lawyers right now in light of year-end, so a helpful resolution can be to get on top of billing year-round, to make the year-end process easier. Lawyers sometimes resist dedicating time to administrative oversight of their practice, given the pressure and demand on their time to serve clients, but it is a critical step. Issuing bills regularly and following up on them not only provides an accurate sense of how things are actually going financially, but the lack of payment can be indicative of an issue.

Hopefully, a delay in payment is due to an administrative issue with the client—maybe they overlooked the invoice or mistakenly thought it had been paid. In that instance, a reminder can be beneficial. But if the lack of payment is intentional, that could be the first sign that a client is not happy with the work (or with the budget). Catching this issue early can allow lawyers to determine whether changes need to be made in the representation or whether there is an issue that might require help from the firm’s general counsel or an outside firm.

Waiting until year-end to take stock of financial health is not a good practice to maintain. Thus, this could be an area for improvement in 2025.

Get Involved in the Community

Bar associations and charitable organizations are always looking for lawyers to volunteer. Volunteering with a bar association has numerous benefits for lawyers as well, including networking in the community and keeping a finger on the pulse of developing issues that impact lawyers. Lawyers can volunteer to give seminars or presentations for bar groups, which can boost the lawyer’s profile on a specific issue and in some cases even lead to new clients.

The rules adopted by many states encourage lawyers to engage in pro bono activity, considering it a civic duty of the practice. For lawyers who are earlier in their careers, pro bono can also provide an opportunity to develop skills that may be less easily forthcoming in their billable practices. For a lawyer who has been waiting for the “right time” to take on a pro bono representation or join a bar committee, 2025 may be the year!

Get Help When Needed

Lawyers are often independent-minded, used to working long hours on a case without coming up for air. For many lawyers, therefore, a good new year’s resolution may be to recognize when help is needed. Whether help is needed—and what kind of help is needed—varies. For some lawyers, it may involve taking a look at their practice to determine what they need to help improve client service, such as implementing different administrative programs (such as a time entry app) or hiring additional support staff or associates. Burnout can be a real problem for lawyers, so recognizing what support is needed for the day-to-day practice is a helpful risk prevention tool.

A sad truth is that mental health issues and substance abuse rates are very high among lawyers as a profession. If you need help, please ask for it. If you see someone who is struggling, offer them help. State bars have resources to help address a host of concerns. For others, getting help may mean finding a resource. Lawyers in firms should reach out to their firm’s general counsel when they have concerns about ethical risks or client matters. Some complicated issues may even warrant reaching out to hire outside counsel experienced in “lawyer’s law.” The important take-away is that lawyers don’t have to try to solve all their problems on their own.

Cheers to 2025!