How a law firm recovered 7 hours per partner per week — without hiring anyone new
Industry
Professional Services
Services
Operations
Company
Bridgepoint Legal
Industry
Professional Services
Services
Operations
Year
2024
HQ
Norway
A boutique law firm was busy but barely profitable. We fixed how work moved through the firm — without adding headcount.
Situation
Bridgepoint Legal was busy — almost too busy. Despite strong demand, the partners were working 60-hour weeks, junior staff turnover was climbing, and profitability wasn't reflecting the volume of work coming through the door. They were billing by the hour but had no clear picture of where that time was actually going.
What we did
We spent two weeks mapping how work moved through the firm, from intake to invoicing. Around 30% of billable hours were being absorbed by internal coordination, rework, and unbilled revision cycles that had quietly become routine. We introduced a scoping framework for new client engagements, restructured how work was delegated across seniority levels, and built a simple profitability dashboard the partners could review weekly without needing their accountant in the room.
We didn't need more people. We needed to stop losing time we didn't know we were losing.
Sarah Bridgepoint
— Managing Partner, Bridgepoint Legal
Result
Billable utilization increased by 18% within one quarter. Each partner recovered an average of 7 hours per week. Staff turnover dropped significantly in the following 6 months as workload became more predictable. The firm took on two new clients without adding headcount.
7 hrs
recovered per partner, per week
