As the year comes to a close, lawyers may be asking themselves whether they made the "Nice List or the Naughty List." For those lawyers on the Nice List, they may already be asking Santa to bring them something as a reward, such as a new client or a big bonus. But lawyers who have been managing their work in accordance with the Rules of Professional Conduct and other legal requirements may still have other needs to improve the performance of their practice.

The end of the year is a good time to assess what sort of improvements lawyers want to see in their practices going forward. Here are some things that lawyers who have behaved themselves all year may want to ask Santa to bring them for 2025.

Effective Administrative Tools

A lawyer can take stock of their administrative systems to identify what else their practice might need in place to help reduce risk and maximize profit. For some lawyers, this may mean asking Santa for a standard and robust engagement letter to use in new matters. Engagement letters can evolve over time to mirror new case law in the area of “lawyer’s law” or even to target specific risks that were addressed by the practice. For example, a law firm that defended against a legal malpractice claim alleging that a lawyer’s scope of representation was much broader than what the firm intended might include a specifically-defined scope of work in their engagement letters going forward.

Engagement letters also help document the facts of the representation—who the client is, what the firm’s document retention policies are, and, in some instances, when the representation can be expected to terminate. But receiving a new template under the tree is only part of the solution. Lawyers must also implement engagement letters as a tool in their day to day practice to fully benefit from them. Some firms, for example, will not allow a new matter to be opened administratively unless or until the lawyer working on the matter confirms that an engagement letter has been signed by the client.

Another administrative tool that lawyers can ask to receive is a solid collections system. Sometimes, lawyers don’t realize until it is too late that their collections are lagging or that clients aren’t paying. Having a system in place (often implemented by a third-party vendor) can help flag delinquent invoices. Identifying these delinquent invoices early can help lawyers figure out what the problem is, from something innocuous (like a client misplacing the invoice in a stack of bills) to the more serious (like a client who is refusing to pay because they have a concern about the work). Having a system in place can significantly reduce the risks associated with billing clients.

No New “Problem Clients”

Based on the statistics, it can be expected that a significant percentage of the lawyer populace will receive a legal malpractice claim at some point in their career. The statistics also suggest, however, that nearly half of all legal malpractice claims lack merit. That means that lawyers can try to recognize problematic clients and matters before they lead to a lawsuit (meritless or otherwise).

Many lawyers who have faced a legal-malpractice claim have later said that, in hindsight, they knew or should have known the client was trouble from a fairly early stage. Maybe the client had unreasonable expectations for success, or the client could have been on their fifth law firm for the same matter (suggesting that the client could never be satisfied, even with excellent representation). To have a good year in 2025, lawyers can ask Santa not to bring them any “problem clients” that pose an increased risk of a legal- malpractice claim.

Ethical Opposing Counsel

Courts and bars are clamping down on what they view as unethical and unprofessional conduct in litigation by lawyers. Instead, courts and bars have expressed a renewed focus on professionalism in the practice of law, emphasizing that lawyers can still zealously represent clients without being needlessly difficult or rude to colleagues and adversaries.

Litigators often have stories about lawyers on the other side of a matter who made the matter unbearable, whether by refusing to consent to routine extensions of time for simple items or by using rude or offensive language toward lawyers or staff. This veneer of needless aggression or obstinance detracts from the issues and also threatens to waste courts’ time with unnecessary disputes and arguments. Hopefully, Santa will not bring such opposing counsel, but will inspire lawyers to act with respect and kindness to others.

The Right Insurance Program

Due to the risk of receiving a legal malpractice claim or bar grievance, as noted above, having an appropriate insurance program in place should be a requisite for lawyers and firms. Some lawyers, however, mistakenly believe that malpractice insurance programs are one-size-fits-all and, thus, they may not spend the time to explore all the options. Lawyers would be well-served by asking Santa—or a broker or an insurer—to customize an insurance program to meet their practice’s specific needs. Whether an insurance program is a good fit can depend on the number of attorneys in the practice, the type of practice (given that some areas of law are subject to more malpractice claims than others), or the firm’s administrative and risk management programs. Working with an insurer to make sure that the firm’s needs are met can go a long way.

The practice of law comes with all kinds of challenges. For those lawyers who made Santa’s “Nice List” this year, hopefully Santa will bring them a risk management tool to help keep them protected in 2025.