“Lawyers who are broke are not in a position to do much good… Not for their clients, their family, their community, least of all themselves.” – RJon Robins, author of Profit First for Lawyers

In Part 2 of our series on Escaping the Doctrine of Sacrifice, we dive deep into the belief system itself. RJon further explores the idea that suffering somehow makes us good, working ourselves into the ground is noble, and that profit is something to be ashamed of. He references the philosophy from the How To Manage A Small Law Firm employee handbook that every team member reads it during onboarding.

In a clip taken from the 2021 livestream which would eventually become the Profit First for Lawyers book, RJon challenges the legal industry’s celebration of sacrifice for its own sake. The true cost? It drains your resources, time, and capacity to serve. Instead, RJon offers a profitable alternative rooted in stewardship, not selfishness.

The Doctrine of Sacrifice is something most lawyers don’t even realize they’ve been influenced by it. But when you glorify struggle, burnout, and endless hours without measuring the value created, you are practicing sacrifice for its own sake, and that helps no one.

The Profit Leak Assessment is a practical, on-demand course to help law firm owners find thousands of dollars in potential profit leaks. Karli teamed up with Evelyn Aucoin, Financial Literacy and Strategy Expert with How To Manage A Small Law Firm to create this resource for law firm owners. Click the link below to start plugging the profit leaks in your firm. Your future self will thank you for it!

“It depends on what you mean by profit. This answer will set you free, and as a result, this way of thinking will make your law firm far more profitable.” – RJon Robins, author of Profit First for Lawyers

What does profit really mean to you? For estate planning attorney Ali Goff, the answer goes far beyond “revenue minus expenses.” In this episode, Ali shares how understanding total owner benefits (time freedom, lifestyle choices, and peace of mind) completely transformed how she runs her firm and designs her life. When faced with a difficult quarter, her commitment to taking distributions even when it felt uncomfortable, forced better decisions and ultimately led to breakthrough growth. Ali’s journey from dismissing Profit First to embracing it reveals why redefining profit is the key to building both a successful business and a meaningful life.

Understanding what profit really means for your business and life changes everything about how you run your firm and measure success.

The Profit Leak Assessment is a practical, on-demand course to help law firm owners find thousands of dollars in potential profit leaks. Karli teamed up with Evelyn Aucoin, Financial Literacy and Strategy Expert with How To Manage A Small Law Firm to create this resource for law firm owners. Click the link below to start plugging the profit leaks in your firm. Your future self will thank you for it!

“It is a sign of extreme entrepreneurial immaturity to discount or dismiss or ignore, or not even be aware that there’s some luck involved in your success.” – RJon Robins, author of Profit First for Lawyers

Welcome to our three-part series on The Doctrine of Sacrifice. This is RJon’s personal crusade to free entrepreneurs, especially lawyers from the long-held belief that sacrifice is noble and that focusing on profit is somehow morally wrong. In this first episode we explore how understanding the role of luck can actually make you more profitable. In clips taken from a 2021 livestream, RJon shares a passage from the How To Manage A Small Law Firm internal employee handbook. Something that every team member reads during their onboarding process. This passage blends ideas from Ayn Rand, Eric Hoffer, and RJon’s own experience to explain why luck is essential for long term success.

So, if you’ve been attributing your struggles entirely to bad luck or your success entirely to brilliance, this reframe changes everything about how you run your firm.

The Profit Leak Assessment is a practical, on-demand course to help law firm owners find thousands of dollars in potential profit leaks. Karli teamed up with Evelyn Aucoin, Financial Literacy and Strategy Expert with How To Manage A Small Law Firm to create this resource for law firm owners. Click the link below to start plugging the profit leaks in your firm. Your future self will thank you for it!

“When we implement Profit First Accounting Principles in your law firm, we begin by deciding ahead of time what percentage of every dollar of revenue we’re going to scoop off the top and protect for you and your family.” – RJon Robins, author of Profit First for Lawyers

In this episode, Profit First certified controller, Veronica Zambrano joins us to break down exactly how to implement Profit First in your law firm (even if you’re in a cash crunch). Using her ‘financial gym’ approach, Veronica shares the simple practical rollout plan she uses with How To Manage A Small Law Firm (HTM) members. Building your way from a 1% allocation to your target percentage of 15% is just like progressively lifting heavier weights at the gym.

Veronica shares her favorite clip of RJon in the studio taken from the Chapter 8 audiobook recording of the Profit First for Lawyers book. Then it’s time for show and tell as she walks us through how Profit First works using the HTM Profit First Allocation Calculator tool she uses for law firm owners. (screenshots below)

Veronica also addresses the fear that stops many law firm owners from starting Profit First and why waiting for the “right moment” is the wrong strategy. Over the years, she has seen the system work time and time again with law firm owners who were tired of their excuses and ready to take action to become profitable.

The Profit Leak Assessment is a practical, on-demand course to help law firm owners find thousands of dollars in potential profit leaks. Karli teamed up with Evelyn Aucoin, Financial Literacy and Strategy Expert with How To Manage A Small Law Firm to create this resource for law firm owners. Click the link below to start plugging the profit leaks in your firm. Your future self will thank you for it!

“While you may be a bold, independent thinker when it comes to the practice of law and in other areas of your life, there’s a very good chance that you’ve been thinking a lot like a lemming when it comes to the profitability of your law firm.” – RJon Robins, author of Profit First for Lawyers

In this episode we revisit a crucial topic from season one that deserves a fresh look, especially if your accountant or bookkeeper has been pushing back against Profit First. For deeper insights, take a look at Chapter 8 from the Profit First for Lawyers book about why GAAP was not meant for you.

In a clip pulled from the original 2021 livestream recording, RJon challenges the conventional wisdom of GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles). He explains why blindly following rules created in the 1930s by 18 accountants trying to appease Wall Street regulators may be preventing your law firm from reaching its full potential. The fact is, GAAP was not designed with your small law firm’s profitability in mind.

If you’ve been accepting “that’s just the way it is” as an answer when it comes to your law firm’s finances, it’s time to challenge that thinking. The status quo was not designed for your success.

The Profit Leak Assessment is a practical, on-demand course to help law firm owners find thousands of dollars in potential profit leaks. Karli teamed up with Evelyn Aucoin, Financial Literacy and Strategy Expert with How To Manage A Small Law Firm to create this resource for law firm owners. Click the link below to start plugging the profit leaks in your firm. Your future self will thank you for it!

“Everywhere you go, people are going to begin celebrating their gross revenue. And I don’t want you to let that mess with your head right? Because you need to understand total owner benefits.” – RJon Robins, author of Profit First for Lawyers

In this episode, Michigan appellate attorney Liisa Speaker shared her seven-year journey with Profit First. Liisa reveals how she started at just 1% profit allocation in 2018 and then paid off law firm debt, tackled law school loans, funded major home improvements, and now uses her profit account to save for her daughters’ college education. She brings a clip from the studio recording of chapter 9 of the Profit First for Lawyers book where RJon explains why understanding Total Owner Benefits, not just gross revenue, is the key to measuring your firm’s true success.

If any of these takeaways resonate with you, it might be time to examine where your law firm stands when it comes to total owner benefits. The good news is that understanding what your numbers are telling you is a learnable skill with the right systems in place.

The Profit Leak Assessment is a practical, on-demand course to help law firm owners find thousands of dollars in potential profit leaks. Karli teamed up with Evelyn Aucoin, Financial Literacy and Strategy Expert with How To Manage A Small Law Firm to create this resource for law firm owners. Click the link below to start plugging the profit leaks in your firm. Your future self will thank you for it!

“So I may wind up sacrificing some precious time with my family to solve that potential new client’s problem and still have no financial profit to show for it. This simple misalignment explains more problems in the legal industry than I can address in this small book.” – RJon Robins, author of Profit First for Lawyers

In this episode, we dive into Chapter 6 of the Profit First for Lawyers book and explore a deceptively simple yet powerful concept: the definition of profit. RJon explains what a profitable exchange actually is and shares a personal story about the trade-offs he makes as a dad and business owner. More importantly, he reveals why lawyers without financial controls often sacrifice time with family while gaining no financial profit in return. This is a recipe for burnout that affects far too many law firm owners.

If any of these takeaways resonate with you, it might be time to examine where your firm stands when it comes to profit. Without financial controls in place, you’re essentially gambling every time you take on a client, betting your time, energy, and family relationships without knowing if there will be anything left for you at the end. That’s not just exhausting, it’s unsustainable. The good news is that this misalignment is fixable with the right systems in place.

The Profit Leak Assessment is a practical, on-demand course to help law firm owners find thousands of dollars in potential profit leaks. Karli teamed up with Evelyn Aucoin, Financial Literacy and Strategy Expert with How To Manage A Small Law Firm to create this resource for law firm owners. Click the link below to start plugging the profit leaks in your firm. Your future self will thank you for it!

“So you’re meeting with your prospective new client… And they’re about to sign the engagement agreement, and you say, ‘Hold on a second. I need to share some information with you.‘ ‘Oh, what’s that?‘ ‘Well, you need to know that my law firm is not very profitable.’ “

– RJon Robins, author of Profit First for Lawyers

This is part two of our series that challenges the belief that focusing on profit is selfish. If you’ve missed part one, “Why Profit Shouldn’t Be Optional”, pause here and listen to that episode first. In this episode, RJon takes his argument even further with a provocative thought experiment. What if you had to disclose your firm’s financial instability to every prospective client before they signed? He contrasts this uncomfortable scenario with the confidence and integrity that comes from running a truly profitable law firm.

This episode demonstrates how Profit First enables law firms to focus on client needs with genuine confidence and integrity rather than their own business and personal financial survival.

The Profit Leak Assessment is a practical, on-demand course to help law firm owners find thousands of dollars in potential profit leaks. Karli teamed up with Evelyn Aucoin, Financial Literacy and Strategy Expert with How To Manage A Small Law Firm to create this resource for law firm owners. Click the link below to start plugging the profit leaks in your firm. Your future self will thank you for it!

“It’s a practical impossibility to practice law well in an unprofitable law firm. Why? Because you need money to pay for things.” – RJon Robins, author of Profit First for Lawyers

This is the first of a two-part series that challenges the belief among law firm owners, that focusing on profit is somehow selfish or unethical. If you’ve ever felt guilty about prioritizing your firm’s profitability, this episode will go a long way toward shifting your perspective on profit. RJon tackles the uncomfortable truth that running an unprofitable law firm doesn’t just make your life harder, it makes it impossible to serve your clients at your highest standards.

This episode serves as a wake-up call that profitability is not an optional “nice to have”, it’s an ethical imperative for delivering the services your clients deserve.

The Profit Leak Assessment is a practical, on-demand course to help law firm owners find thousands of dollars in potential profit leaks. Karli teamed up with Evelyn Aucoin, Financial Literacy and Strategy Expert with How To Manage A Small Law Firm to create this resource for law firm owners. Click the link below to start plugging the profit leaks in your firm. Your future self will thank you for it!

And most importantly, order your copy of Profit First for Lawyers today!

“A much healthier approach. A much more rational approach is to begin by deciding what you want out of your business first… After all the business is supposed to be there to give you a better life too, isn’t it?” – RJon Robins, author of Profit First for Lawyers

In this episode we hear about a common challenge among law firm owners: feast or famine finances. If this feels all too familiar then this episode is exactly what you need to hear because it is never too late to begin your Profit First journey. But don’t just take our word for it. Law firm owner, Sarah Phillips from Phillips Law in New Orleans, Louisiana joins us to talk about the transformational journey she and fellow law firm owner Bradley Phillips have been on since beginning to take their profits first. This husband-and-wife legal team’s transformation story proves that taking profits isn’t about greed, it’s about stability and treating your business like the asset it should be.

Sarah brought her favorite clip from the Profit First for Lawyers book pages 166-167 where RJon discusses “The Primacy Effect” and how it impacts business profitability. He explains how profit must be baked into every transaction instead of being treated as an afterthought, which is the traditional approach to cash management. This mindset shift forces business owners to be creative and make tough decisions at work rather than at home.

So how does someone actually get started with these concepts? Sarah’s advice for hesitant law firm owners is simple: start with baby steps. Begin by paying yourself first consistently and see how it changes your business mindset. Financial stability eases the mental load many business owners experience and allows more strategic and less emotional decision making when challenges aka “problem-tunities” arise. Sarah says they are now able to quickly identify what’s not working and come up with logical solutions since they started taking their profits first.

The Profit Leak Assessment is a practical, on-demand course to help law firm owners find thousands of dollars in potential profit leaks. Karli teamed up with Evelyn Aucoin, Financial Literacy and Strategy Expert with How To Manage A Small Law Firm to create this resource for law firm owners. Click the link below to start plugging the profit leaks in your firm. Your future self will thank you for it!

And most importantly, order your copy of Profit First for Lawyers today!