Law Firms

Albers & Associates Improves Business Strategy While Maximizing Growth With Executive Coaching

    Client Profile

    Ross Albers is an experienced criminal defense and personal injury attorney specializing in DUI and car accidents. He began his legal career as a prosecutor in Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s office. There, he prosecuted criminal, DUI, juvenile and traffic cases in Maryland’s circuit and district courts. After opening his own practice, The Law Office of Ross W. Albers, in early 2015 he has has been rapidly growing the firm. With just 2 1/2 years in private practice, Albers has been recognized as a leader in his field and was awarded the Maryland Super Lawyers Rising Star Award in Criminal Defense in 2016 & 2017.

    Client Challenge

    When Albers began his own practice, like many new firms, he had to take just about any case he could. Initially, most of his cases originated from panel work which gave him a lot of visibility in the legal community, but required him to travel extensively across the State defending cases, while not generating much income. The frustrations of not working “smart” started to set in, and a colleague who was working with the Growth Solutions Team, suggested he talk to them.

    “When I reached out to Growth Solutions Team, I didn’t have a particular goal in mind, I just knew I could be more successful if I could get some guidance and direction,” said Albers. “I recognized the need for systems and structure to reduce the amount of panel work I was doing and focus on building my firm the right way.” Immediately, GST started by defining objectives and identifying the reasons Ross had opened his own practice. Those early goal-setting sessions laid the foundation for how Albers could increase both revenue and productivity.

Recommendations & Solutions

  • PHASE 1: PRACTICE DEVELOPMENT

    • Establish a target demographic of clients and referral partners
    • Create of an effective contact marketing campaign to build relationships
    • Develop an effective value message and value delivery process
    • Utilize a sales process for effective conversations leading to new client acquisition
    • Build a network of referral partners who send opportunities cases
    • Qualify potential referral partners (chiropractors, physical therapists, and other attorneys) to focus the most time on partners with highest referral capacity

  • PHASE 2: OF COUNSEL, OFFICE STAFF, TRANSITION TO PROFITABLE WORK

    • Hire/outsource key positions (office admin/legal assistant, of counsel and outsource paralegal)
    • Telephone marketing training for assistant – to set appointments with existing and new referral partners
    • Increase billable hourly rate
    • Generate Google and other on-line reviews from clients
    • Test and measure automated marketing methods (billboard, Adwords, organic SEO)
    • Recruit future team members for continued growth in cases and revenue

  • PHASE 3: OFFICE EXPANSION & RECRUITING

    • Identify future key positions for team
    • Recruit legal associate attorney, business development officer and admin team member
    • Delegate responsibilities from Owner to key team members
    • Outsource non-legal or sales responsibilities

Results

Working with the Growth Solutions Team has helped Albers establish a solid base of referral partners that feed business directly into his firm. Within 30 days of working with David, Albers began establishing himself as a referral partner for many local chiropractors and other practitioners. “I am the “anti-lawyer,” he explained. “While most attorneys and firms shy away from building relationships with practitioners, David opened my eyes to see them as ongoing revenue.” This has been an important turning point in Albers’ success. “When I began my practice, I was doing 95% panel work over the entire State of Maryland. Now less than 10% of my cases come from panel work focused in a single county. And the vast majority of new clients come from referral partners,” said Albers. This approach gives him continued visibility in the court system, while his most important efforts are generating referrals from partners. After working with the Growth Solutions Team for just 18 months, Albers shared these results:

  • PHASE 1: PRACTICE DEVELOPMENT

    • Develop and nurture solid base of referral partners.
      • Albers now has approximately 100 strategic partners which send new cases to his firm
      • 95% of new clients have come through his referral partners
    • Revenue has more than doubled since beginning practice
    • Focus efforts on online reviews
      • Because positive reviews have proven to be of great value to his practice, Albers’ team has a process for consistent follow up to obtain client reviews

  • PHASE 2: OF COUNSEL, OFFICE STAFF, TRANSITION TO PROFITABLE WORK

    • Significantly increased billable rates, by backing that up with exceptional service and results
    • DUI case revenue has increased 300%

  • PHASE 3: OFFICE EXPANSION & SALE OF ADJACENT PROPERTY

    • Full time legal assistant dedicated to administrative tasks and setting appointments with referral partners
    • Outsource paralegal activities to an outside firm
      • Outsourcing reduces costs and overhead from in-house
      • Increase the number of cases they can service
    • Continually evaluate growth opportunities and possibility for practice expansion

“There is a reason why people hire personal trainers or activity specific coaches. They are experts geared to generating results,” remarked Albers. “The same is true for your business. Having a business coach just makes sense.”

Updates On Case Study

Then

Solo criminal defense / DUI and personal injury practice built around panel work and founder-driven execution.

GST Focus

Solo criminal defense / DUI and personal injury practice built around panel work and founder-driven execution. Referral development, value messaging, intake discipline, delegation, hiring, and CEO-level prioritization.

Now

Albers & Associates is a multi-office, full-service Maryland law firm serving clients across personal injury, criminal defense, DUI/DWI, family law, estate planning, probate, civil litigation, and business law.

Starting Point

When Ross Albers launched private practice, the firm had momentum but lacked the structure to scale. Much of the early caseload came from low-margin panel work spread across Maryland. The opportunity was not simply to get more cases; it was to build a firm that could attract the right matters, create repeatable client acquisition, and move the owner out of day-to-day reaction mode.

GST Engagement

Growth Solutions Team helped Albers clarify the kind of firm he wanted to build and translate that vision into operating habits. Early work focused on defining target clients and referral partners, sharpening the value message, creating a relationship-based marketing plan, and installing a more intentional intake and sales process. As the firm grew, GST supported the next stage: staff development, outsourcing non-core work, increasing billable value, generating online reviews, and delegating work so the owner could operate as CEO rather than chief doer.

Growth Since The Original Case Study

The original case study captured the first inflection point: panel work dropped from nearly all new matters to a small minority, referral partners became a primary source of new clients, revenue more than doubled, and DUI case revenue increased significantly. Since then, the firm has evolved from the Law Office of Ross W. Albers into Albers & Associates, a broader legal platform with multiple Maryland offices, a larger attorney and support team, and a wider set of practice areas. The brand now presents itself as a full-service Maryland law firm, with more than 300 five-star Google reviews and offices listed in Baltimore City, Ellicott City, Dundalk, Timonium/Towson, Westminster, and Phoenix.

Business Impact

The GST work created the foundation for sustainable expansion: repeatable referral generation, stronger positioning, improved intake, delegation of non-owner tasks, and a leadership mindset that kept growth tied to systems rather than personality. The result is a firm that moved from survival-stage practice building to a scalable, multi-office legal business.

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