#550 The AND Approach: How Gary Mitchell Helps Law Firm Owners Grow Their Business and Reclaim Their Freedom | Gary Mitchell Interviewed by Niels Brabandt
The AND Approach: How Gary Mitchell Helps Law Firm Owners Grow Their Business and Reclaim Their Freedom
Law firm owners are told, implicitly and often explicitly, that growth requires sacrifice: more billable hours, more staff, less time at home. In the latest episode of The Leadership Podcast, Niels Brabandt EMBA MBA MSc is joined once again by Gary Mitchell, business coach and author of the newly published book The AND Approach: How To Grow Your Law Firm And Gain More Freedom, to challenge that assumption directly. Returning to the podcast by popular demand, Gary Mitchell argues that growth and freedom are not opposing forces to be traded off against one another, but two outcomes that can, and should, be pursued at the same time.
Why 'Or' Thinking Traps Law Firm Owners
According to Gary Mitchell, the cycle begins with mindset. Law firm owners who assume that growth can only come from working longer hours, at the expense of family time, holidays and personal wellbeing, will inevitably build a business that reflects exactly that assumption. The alternative, what Gary Mitchell calls the AND approach, starts from a different premise: that growing a legal practice and reclaiming personal freedom are not mutually exclusive goals but complementary ones, provided the business is built with intention rather than default habit.
Working From Strength: A Different Take on Business Analysis
Gary Mitchell draws on Steve Jobs's rejection of traditional SWOT analysis to make his point. Rather than spending energy correcting weaknesses, Gary Mitchell encourages law firm owners to identify their core strengths and build a team around them, one designed specifically to compensate for the gaps a founder cannot, and should not, try to close alone. It is an approach he illustrates with the example of a Long Island tax lawyer who built a seven-figure practice while working only two days a week in the office, prioritising time with her two daughters without sacrificing the growth of her firm.
The Hiring Cycle That Keeps Owners Trapped
Much of the freedom lost by law firm owners, Gary Mitchell explains, can be traced back to a recurring hiring pattern. Owners tend to delay hiring until the pressure becomes urgent, then hire in haste rather than strategically. Instructions to new hires are rushed, assuming a level of familiarity the new employee does not yet have. When the inevitable mistake follows, the owner concludes that the task should have been done personally, takes it back, and ends up working later into the evening than before. The cycle then repeats itself, reinforcing exactly the pattern the owner was hoping to escape.
Breaking the Bottleneck: Delegation, Culture and Letting Go
Gary Mitchell estimates that around ninety per cent of law firm owners, and small business owners more broadly, remain the bottleneck through which every decision must pass. Breaking this pattern requires more than hiring well. It requires building a culture in which people are trusted to bring ideas forward, rather than waiting for permission at every step. Gary Mitchell references a well-known reframing of leadership, often attributed to Steve Jobs: that capable people are not hired to be told what to do, but to tell their leaders what should be done. Genuine delegation, he argues, is what ultimately frees a law firm owner's time, not simply hiring more staff.
Beyond Legal: Gary Mitchell's Next Chapter
Having spent two decades working primarily within the legal industry, Gary Mitchell is now expanding the AND approach into other sectors, arguing that the same patterns of overwork and control appear across entrepreneurial businesses generally. Alongside the book, he is hosting a free live masterclass on LinkedIn on 28 July, covering the strategies discussed in the book in greater depth, open to law firm owners and other small business owners alike.
The conversation between Niels Brabandt and Gary Mitchell offers a clear message for business leaders who feel they have run out of options: growth does not have to come at the cost of a life outside the business. With the right team, the right culture and a willingness to let go of control, Gary Mitchell's AND approach suggests that ambitious growth and personal freedom can, in fact, be built together.
Readers interested in the AND approach can connect with Gary Mitchell on LinkedIn or visit ontrackcoach.com for more on his book, his coaching practice and his upcoming masterclass.
Niels Brabandt
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More on this topic in this week's videocast and podcast with Niels Brabandt: Videocast / Apple Podcasts / Spotify
For the videocast's and podcast's transcript, read below this article.
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Podcast and Videocast Transcript
Niels Brabandt EMBA MBA MSc
Let's say you want to grow your legal business, and of course you probably think now, "Well, I can grow it," however that means more hours, more people, more effort, less life, and you may now think you are at a certain point where you think, "I think I sort of figured it out, I am somewhere in the prison of making very good money and exchanging hours for life."
Niels Brabandt EMBA MBA MSc
That's how it is, well, is it? The question is: how can you get both, more out of your life, and grow your legal business? We have an expert on the matter with us here today. Hello and welcome, Gary Mitchell.
Gary Mitchell
Hello Nils, it's great to be with you again.
Niels Brabandt EMBA MBA MSc
Thank you very much. Back by popular demand, I can say. So here we are. You just published your book, so it is an the- the and approach, where how to grow your life and gain more freedom.
Niels Brabandt EMBA MBA MSc
And of course now some people will say, "Look, I've been in the business for a decade, this doesn't work." You have to count billable hours when you want to grow your business. This means more billable hours, and this is how you grow it: you hire more people, more billable hours, but more people bring more problems and more challenges, and this is an endless letter of exchange your life against more money and more business.
Niels Brabandt EMBA MBA MSc
So what's your take on this, that you claim the and approach helps people to grow law firms and gain more freedom?
Gary Mitchell
It starts with mindset, Nils. I mean, right out of the gate, if you start if you start out of the gate growing your law firm, or any other business for that matter, with the attitude that nothing else can be done except work, that you're going to have to be in the office 80 hours a week, nights, weekends, missing your daughter's baseball practice or your son's soccer practice, missing vacations, not seeing your spouse, guess what's going to happen?
Gary Mitchell
That's exactly how you're going to grow your business. You're not going to be working from intention to build a business to suit your life.
Niels Brabandt EMBA MBA MSc
Mm-hmm.
Gary Mitchell
Now, sounds simple, it is simple, okay? The approach is simple. It's a mindset shift. Easy? No. No, I'm not.
Niels Brabandt EMBA MBA MSc
Otherwise many people, if it had been easy, probably already anyone would do it so far. And let's face it, I have people who work in the legal industry. One of my friends who works for HugeLaw, I only see him between Friday evening and Sunday morning, because anything outside of that is hours in the office, all now, brand new, allowed to work from home on a Sunday.
Gary Mitchell
Yeah, well, at least you get to, you get to see him on the weekends. I mean, I know.
Gary Mitchell
Anyway there's, there's a number of issues that law firm owners specifically face, and I speak about law firm owners, but I also understand these attributes, these challenges, they are across all businesses with all entrepreneurs, especially founders. I've experienced it myself. I've overcome a lot of these challenges myself. I do walk the walk. I do live the and approach, because I will, I will not settle for less.
Gary Mitchell
But that's what it starts with. Whenever I start out with a client, I want to find out their why, or their and. What are they in this for? It's not just building the firm, which is fun as an entrepreneur, building something, watch-watching it grow.
Niels Brabandt EMBA MBA MSc
Yeah.
Gary Mitchell
But what is the, what is the end game? What is it all for? Let me give you an example. The one of the people who inspired me to write this book was a highly successful woman in Long Island, New York, who built her multi figure, seven-figure tax law firm, working only two days a week in the office. This was way before COVID, Nils.
Gary Mitchell
First of all, you have a woman owner. That's a success plateau that's not reached by many. The legal industry is still very conservative out there. So that's one.
Gary Mitchell
Two, her and, why she was only in the office two days a week? Because she prioritized the raising of her two daughters.
Niels Brabandt EMBA MBA MSc
Mm-hmm.
Gary Mitchell
There-there's a perfect example of and. So instead of, or instead of her choosing to be a present present for her children and they're growing up, and, and a mother not hiring an auntie and being in the office all the time, she did both.
Gary Mitchell
Now, in my interviewing of her, Nils, she said something that really struck a chord. She laid back in her chair with a big smile on her face, and she said, "You can have it all, you just can't do it all on your own."
Gary Mitchell
Lawyers, lawyers are renowned for doing it on their own.
Niels Brabandt EMBA MBA MSc
Yeah.
Gary Mitchell
They're lone wolves. There's a number of issues: control, perfectionism, they're all intertwined. So I can see where the, the, the repeating cycle happens. Here, let me give you a scenario. The law firm owner is growing, they need help. They wait too late to hire, okay?
Niels Brabandt EMBA MBA MSc
As usual.
Gary Mitchell
Yes, the building is on fire, so they're not, they're not hiring strategically, they're hiring in a hurry, so they're not properly hiring. That's mistake number one.
Gary Mitchell
They're rushing in the instructions because they've done it a million times. They assume that the, the junior lawyer, whoever they're, or the paralegal, whoever they're instructing, will get it. So they don't properly give instructions.
Gary Mitchell
Well, what happens? That person inevitably fails. Comes back to the law firm owner. The law firm owner shrugs, you know, throws the arms in the air and go, "Oh, I should have just done it myself." So they do it themselves, and they're in the office till 11 o'clock at night.
Niels Brabandt EMBA MBA MSc
Yeah.
Gary Mitchell
This, this cycle repeats itself. So here are my strategies that I lay out in the book, and I, and I do with my clients. One, you work from strength. We look at the strengths of the founder, and we build a team around that. We don't worry about their weaknesses, right? Steve Jobs, one of my favorite business leadership organizational gurus of all time.
Niels Brabandt EMBA MBA MSc
Mm-hmm.
Gary Mitchell
Is, was the one who turned everything upside down when it comes to the SWOT analysis. I'm old enough, back in the early days of business and all this philosophy, where SWOT analysis, you would, you, you know, you look at your weaknesses and pull up your socks, pull up your shorts.
Niels Brabandt EMBA MBA MSc
Yeah.
Gary Mitchell
You got to fix this, you got to fix that. Steve Jobs comes along around and he turns all of that upside down. He said, "No, don't waste time with your weaknesses. Focus all of your energy, your time, mastering your strengths." I say to my clients, "Become a Jedi, master it," okay?
Niels Brabandt EMBA MBA MSc
Mm-hmm.
Gary Mitchell
And then we're going to systematically build your A-team around you with complementary skills that not only fill the gaps left by your weaknesses, take you next level. That helps the law firm owner slowly but surely let go of the control, leveraging other people to be doing the work, freeing up time, and growing the firm. You see how it all works together? You can.
Niels Brabandt EMBA MBA MSc
Yes.
Gary Mitchell
You can do these things at the same time. In fact, you should be doing these things at the same time.
Niels Brabandt EMBA MBA MSc
And probably proactively, instead of waiting until the house is on fire.
Gary Mitchell
Exactly. I mean, I've got strategies for hiring, when to hire, when to properly, how to hire how to double-check your hire. Getting the right people is critical. Getting them in the right roles is your next critical step. Giving them proper instruction, following up, providing ongoing development and mentorship and training, and building a culture of collaboration and innovation.
Niels Brabandt EMBA MBA MSc
Mm-hmm.
Gary Mitchell
That, again, when you hear it, it's not rocket science, right? It's not brain surgery.
Niels Brabandt EMBA MBA MSc
Mm-hmm.
Gary Mitchell
Sounds, it sounds simple, because I always employ simple tactics and approaches, because simple works. I mean, I've been in business now almost 40 years, all told.
Niels Brabandt EMBA MBA MSc
Yeah.
Gary Mitchell
Politics, communications, marketing, coaching, simple works. Again, simple doesn't mean easy. We are dealing with human beings, which I believe are the most challenging part of any business.
Niels Brabandt EMBA MBA MSc
Mm-hmm.
Gary Mitchell
And a law firm, a law firm especially, because it's all about the people. You've got to have great people serving your great clients, right? So, I mean, I'm on a mission here, Nils, because I've seen.
Niels Brabandt EMBA MBA MSc
I see, I see, and I feel that you are. I really see that, yes.
Gary Mitchell
I see that. You
Niels Brabandt EMBA MBA MSc
are backed by popular demand, and you are backed by popular demand because so many people contacted us and said, "Hey, bring Gary back." So here we are.
Gary Mitchell
That's awesome. And
Niels Brabandt EMBA MBA MSc
usually people feel when someone is on a mission for something.
Gary Mitchell
No, I'm on a mission, and I'm going to take it beyond legal. I'm working on a number of things.
Niels Brabandt EMBA MBA MSc
That will be my next question, because I was just wondering, okay, look, there is the legal industry, and I could think of a number of other industries who also have that challenge and who might be interested in probably getting your, your brain on that. Do you plan to go beyond legal, and in which industries do you plan to go?
Gary Mitchell
Absolutely. I mean, I look at it like this: lawyers have really assisted me in cutting my teeth as a coach. They are the most critical, analytical skeptical people on the planet.
Niels Brabandt EMBA MBA MSc
Highly critical. These are not
Gary Mitchell
criti- these are not criticism, by the way. That's exactly why we hire them. And, and what, like, for those skills. But if I can create even a measure of success over 20 years with working with that cohort, imagine what I could do with less skeptical people, people that have maybe even a little or slightly more entrepreneurial bend.
Gary Mitchell
So yes I'm going to be hosting a, a masterclass for law, for for law firm owners and anyone else who wants to join. It'll be hosted live on LinkedIn, July 28th 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time in over here in in Canada 9 o'clock a.m. Pacific Time. And I'm going to be going through the theories in the book and giving practical, practical approaches.
Gary Mitchell
We're also working on uploading the companion workbooks to the website. So you read the book, it's informational. And I mean, everyone who's read the book from other businesses said, "Oh, well, this is transferable across all industries." Yes, it is. And I will be doing some follow-up books podcasts, things like that.
Gary Mitchell
I will be expanding out, because as an entrepreneur, I've gone through all these challenges, right? I made the mistake of controlling because I wanted to ma- I'm a, I'm a recovering perfectionist, so I get these guys. I, I understand lawyers. It's your name on the door, right? It's your.
Niels Brabandt EMBA MBA MSc
Yeah.
Gary Mitchell
It's a statement of who you are.
Niels Brabandt EMBA MBA MSc
On the door, at the street, on the billboard, anywhere.
Gary Mitchell
That's right.
Niels Brabandt EMBA MBA MSc
Anywhere.
Gary Mitchell
That's right.
Niels Brabandt EMBA MBA MSc
Anything that might go wrong, you immediately connect, "This is my name out there," and someone now thinks it's me who just probably didn't do it right.
Gary Mitchell
That's right. And I understand that. But there's ways of getting around it, and the first step is getting great people. And I know there's great people out there, and specifically in the legal industry. Again, this has been my sandbox for 20 years, so I speak within that. But there are a lot of unhappy, very talented professionals out there.
Niels Brabandt EMBA MBA MSc
Mm-hmm.
Gary Mitchell
So you'll notice in that formula that I said near the beginning, I did include culture. You, you build, and you can do this with intention as well. You build a culture of collaboration, innovation, partnership, and watch your people thrive. Don't micromanage. Take them off the leash. When you get the right people, you don't have to micromanage. You don't have to babysit.
Niels Brabandt EMBA MBA MSc
Mm-hmm.
Gary Mitchell
They have the work ethic, they have the drive. You get them you know, there's built, you build an incentive, so they have skin in the game, they're part of building it, and you watch people soar. I mean, I do walk the walk. My EA said to me, hmm, two months ago, I think, three months ago, I share her with another professional services firm.
Niels Brabandt EMBA MBA MSc
Yeah.
Gary Mitchell
Because I don't really, I don't need full-time. So Anna says to me on our weekly call one, one day, she goes, "Gary, I really appreciate the way you work. You're not, you're not holding me back. You're not micromanaging me."
Gary Mitchell
My other client, it's like they tell, you know, I'm like, "No, Anna, I hired you because I want your input. I want your ideas."
Gary Mitchell
Again, Steve Jobs, quote, I'm ver-verbatim, but not quite verbatim. We don't hire smart people so we tell them what to do. We hire smart people so they tell us what to do.
Niels Brabandt EMBA MBA MSc
Yeah.
Gary Mitchell
That's, that's great leadership right there.
Niels Brabandt EMBA MBA MSc
Yeah.
Gary Mitchell
That is a component of great people.
Niels Brabandt EMBA MBA MSc
Absolutely.
Gary Mitchell
You are building other leaders. You are delegating the power away from the one central position because you are the bottleneck.
Niels Brabandt EMBA MBA MSc
Yeah.
Gary Mitchell
90, 90% of law firm owners, and I would guess entrepreneurs and small business owners, are the bottleneck. Everything has to pass through them. No wonder you don't sleep. No wonder you don't have time for yourself, because you're doing it all.
Gary Mitchell
And I saw, you know, the book launch was June 3rd in Toronto, and leading up to that, a former client who's done quite well, I have to say, okay? 2018 to 2020, I was working with him. He brought me in to create a path to partnership for his young millennial lawyers who wanted to see their future.
Niels Brabandt EMBA MBA MSc
Mm-hmm.
Gary Mitchell
It's very typical. And, you know he was, he had five lawyers under him at that point, which was quite outstanding. I think he was 34 at the time. He's now got over 20.
Niels Brabandt EMBA MBA MSc
Wow.
Gary Mitchell
But every, every single email is passing through his inbox. How do I know this? Because he was copied on every detail of the book launch.
Niels Brabandt EMBA MBA MSc
Yeah.
Gary Mitchell
That should not, that should not happen. That was a big, that was a big red flag for me, because if he's looking at every e-email with something that doesn't even have to do with law or his firm, you bet he's seeing every other email.
Niels Brabandt EMBA MBA MSc
Absolutely.
Gary Mitchell
And the, he, he made a comment about the office manager, and I thought to myself, "I really need to sit this guy down, because he needs to take ownership for the culture he's created."
Niels Brabandt EMBA MBA MSc
Mm-hmm.
Gary Mitchell
His people, his people are not going to feel comfortable trying to figure out or bring ideas to the table when they know that he is the final say. He has to give them permission. He has to create that atmosphere where people want to come to the table with ideas and be a part of the solution. So it's not just, "Oh, his office manager isn't proactive." He hasn't created the winning conditions for his team.
Niels Brabandt EMBA MBA MSc
Mm-hmm.
Gary Mitchell
To be proactive.
Niels Brabandt EMBA MBA MSc
Yeah. Absolutely. And
Gary Mitchell
you must, you must do that as a leader. You must do that.
Niels Brabandt EMBA MBA MSc
Yeah. Yeah. When now people say, "Hey, I think this is a really good approach," and probably a couple of people are now listening and think, "Well, I just hear myself in there, so maybe I need some help here." Of course, the final question of the interview needs to be, how can people get in touch with you when they want to have you as their trainer, speaker, coach, speaker at the event, or anything else similar?
Gary Mitchell
I'm on LinkedIn, Gary Mitchell, and the website is ontrackcoach, no K, just double C, ontrackcoach.com. Shoot me an email or send me a message on LinkedIn.
Gary Mitchell
Again, this podcast, I believe, will be airing ahead of the masterclass. It's going to be 45 minutes of pure strategy, no fluff, and then a 15-minute Q&A.
Gary Mitchell
Even if you're not a lawyer, if you're a small business owner and you heard something that you you can really relate to, jump on. It's free. You know, and, and, and you get some more get some more interesting strategies, and I'll go a little bit deeper than we have today.
Niels Brabandt EMBA MBA MSc
Yeah.
Gary Mitchell
Right? But.
Niels Brabandt EMBA MBA MSc
Brilliant. I think these are the perfect final words. So when you now say, "Hey, I'd like to grow my law firm or my business," you now heard who is the expert here. So at the end of this podcast and videocast, there's only one thing left for me to say, Gary. Thank you very much for your time.
Gary Mitchell
Thank you, Nils.