Here, Melissa Barlas, the founder of Conveyed, and Will McCullough, the principal of MCC Advisory, provided valuable insights into the significant challenges faced by sole practitioners. They also outlined the strategies they personally employ to cope with these challenges and emphasised the importance of implementing similar techniques for maintaining overall wellbeing.

Weight of responsibility

The absence of a support team means that sole practitioners are responsible for every aspect of their practices.

Melissa Barlas, the recipient of the Sole Practitioner of the Year award at the 2023 Lawyers Weekly Australian Law Awards, highlighted the diverse and intricate nature of sole practitioners’ roles and responsibilities.

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“Sole practitioners wear all the hats in their business. They are the operations, the financial controller, [the] business development manager, [the] marketing manager and the list goes on.

“In addition, they are managing all the file work themselves and don’t have the same resources as would a mid- or top-tier firm to help alleviate the workload pressures,” Barlas said.

Barles articulated that the significant level of responsibility inherent in fields such as property law and conveyancing can be particularly demanding, as the administrative burdens often overshadow the time allocated to revenue-generating activities.

“I see this most notably in property law and conveyancing, where the workload is heavily admin-based and the time applied to managing each file is significantly less than what practitioners make per file,” Barlas said.

Due to the significant responsibilities that sole practitioners must manage, Barlas highlighted, “this results in more burnout and less time for things that actually matter, life, family time or even taking a small holiday”.

Will McCullough, a finalist of the Sole Practitioner of the Year award at the 2021 and 2022 Lawyers Weekly Australian Law Awards, echoed this sentiment, noting that the absence of a dedicated support team places an overwhelming burden on these individuals, as every responsibility ultimately rests solely on their shoulders.

“As a sole practitioner, there is no team to share the load; you are responsible for finding clients, doing the work and running the practice.

“This leads to competing workload pressures. For example, there is always internal pressure to feel busy on free-earning work. However, if you focus too much on that, then business development and pipeline can be impacted later down the line,” McCullough said.

McCullough also expressed that without the presence of co-workers who can gently remind you to take breaks or recognise when you might be overworking yourself, it becomes all too easy to succumb to the pressures of an overwhelming workload.

“I think another factor that makes workload pressure a critical challenge is that you do not have a team of co-workers working alongside you to tell you that you are overdue a break, working too hard or in need of a holiday.

“I think being a sole practitioner requires a lot of discipline and introspection to identify when it is time to dial back a little,” McCullough said.

Strategies for managing workload pressures

To address the various pressures they face, both Barlas and McCullough have implemented strategies designed to help them navigate their workloads more efficiently while simultaneously improving their overall wellbeing.

Barlas described her transformative experience in addressing her workload, reflecting on how her initial year as a sole practitioner left her feeling deeply burned out.

“In my first year as a sole practitioner, I was burnt out and underpaid. When I broke down crying one evening because of the pressure, I realised something drastic in the way I worked had to change,” Barlas said.

To address this challenging situation, Barlas explained, she invested in professional development and learned the importance of constructing her practice on strategic principles rather than relying on chance.

“I invested in my own professional development, including through business coaches, and learnt how to base my business on strategy, not luck, and automated my practice as best as I could. Not just in an IT sense, but hiring good talent and delegating the low-end tasks and day-to-day file work so that the business does not solely rely on me,” Barlas said.

Barlas described how putting these strategies into practice transformed her life, enabling her to “spend more time with my family, go on holidays and now, I am on a mission to help other sole practitioners achieve the lifestyle dreams they deserve”.

In a similar vein, McCullough underscored the importance of actively managing workloads to ensure efficiency and productivity; however, he acknowledged that this could be challenging during unexpectedly busy periods.

“As I suspect is the case for most sole practitioners, I keep a close eye on my current workloads and the work that is on the horizon to identify and manage any upcoming busy periods. However, the challenge is dealing with those unexpected busy periods that seem to come out of nowhere,” McCullough said.

McCullough emphasised that he manages this by maintaining an open and transparent line of community with clients, which allows him to facilitate timely updates regarding upcoming deadlines and effectively manage expectations.

“To manage this, I maintain open communications with my clients so they can give me early notice of upcoming deadlines and so that I can effectively manage expectations. To achieve this, where possible, I am active on my client’s internal communications platforms (such as Slack and Asana),” McCullough said.

Moreover, McCullough has made significant investments in digital practice management solutions designed to enhance his operational efficiency and reduce the necessity of engaging in mundane tasks.

“I also minimise the amount of time that I need to spend on practice management. I have invested in high-end digital practice management solutions and other tools that automate a lot of processes, such as conflict checks, matter opening, billing and matter closing.

“These tools also allow me to quickly clear out my inbox at the start and end of most days, keep my matter filing up to date and continuously update my task list. This helps create a feeling of being ‘on top of work’, which can allow me to say ‘yes’ when those unexpected matters arise,” McCullough said.

Personal lessons learnt

Running a practice comes with a considerable personal toll that can affect various aspects of life; hence, it is crucial to prioritise a balance between the responsibilities of your practice and your self-care and mental wellbeing.

Barlas reflected on her journey: “Developing a solid business model and strategic direction has been fundamental to scaling my practice and ensuring it does not rely on me, so that I can spend more time with my family.”

An initiative that has proven to be highly beneficial for Barlas is the creation of distinct “swim lanes” for various facets of her business. This approach has enabled her to develop standard operating procedures, allowing her to regain control over her time and workload.

“One exercise I found useful was to create “swim lanes” for different areas of my business to map out the transactional journey. This allowed me to build out my standard operating procedures based on the journey I mapped for my business and put the control back into my hands,” Barlas said.

“The reality is, life is too short to spend 50-plus hours a week working. Systemise your practice in a way that gives you the life you set out for yourself and reap the rewards.”

McCullough expressed gratitude for the immense support he receives from his family, especially from his wife. He emphasised that her understanding and encouragement regarding his responsibilities as a sole practitioner have been invaluable and constitute a fundamental aspect of his support network.

“I’m fortunate that my wife understands that my workload is not linear and that I can have unexpected busy periods and feel overwhelmed at times. She is the core of my support network, and that network is just so important as a sole practitioner,” McCullough said.

Additionally, he stressed a significant lesson he has learnt during his five years of launching MCC Advisory: the importance of being selective regarding the projects he accepts.

“An important learning for me was to know when to be selective about the work that I accept. When starting out on your own, the temptation is to say ‘yes’ to everything that is within your practice area. Now, I am more selective about making sure that I can comfortably deliver the work I accept without giving myself unreasonable deadlines,” McCullough said.