Why You Should Hire a Law Firm CFO

(And Why Waiting Too Long Is What Actually Costs You)

Most law firm owners don’t wake up thinking, “I need a CFO.”

What they think instead sounds more like:

• Why does cash feel tight even when we’re busy?

• Why does hiring feel risky every single time?

• Why do my numbers look fine one month and terrifying the next?

• Why am I working harder but not feeling more in control?

And it's easy to assume the problem is:

• Pricing

• Marketing

• Collections

• Staffing

• Or “not pushing hard enough”

After working with law firms across multiple practice areas, one truth becomes clear:

Most firms don’t have a revenue problem.They have a visibility and decision-making problem.

That’s exactly what a law firm CFO solves.

Let’s Clear This Up First: What a Law Firm CFO Is Not

A CFO is not:

• A more expensive bookkeeper

• Someone who just prepares reports

• A “nice-to-have” once you hit a certain revenue number

• A role reserved for massive firms

  
  

If that’s what you’re imagining, this article won’t make sense.

Because a law firm CFO is not about the size of your firm.It’s about the complexity of the decisions you’re making.

The Reality of Running a Law Firm (From the Owner’s Seat)

As an owner, you’re constantly making decisions like:

• Can we afford to hire right now, or should we wait?

• Are our cases actually profitable, or just busy?

• Is marketing bringing in the right clients?

• Why does cash dip even when revenue looks strong?

• How much should I really be paying myself?

And you’re expected to answer those questions while:

• Managing clients

• Supporting your team

• Hitting court deadlines

• Handling emotional, unpredictable casework

  
  

Most firm owners are making six-figure decisions with partial information.

Not because they’re careless, but because no one has built the system to give them clarity.

Why Bookkeeping Alone Isn’t Enough Anymore

Bookkeeping tells you what already happened.

A CFO helps you decide what happens next.

Here’s the difference in practice:

Bookkeeper	CFO
Records transactions	Interprets what they mean
Produces reports	Translates reports into decisions
Looks backward	Looks forward
Keeps things compliant	Keeps the firm financially strategic

Bookkeeping answers:

What did we earn and spend last month?

A CFO answers:

Given where we are, what should we do next and what risks are coming?

As your firm grows, looking backward stops being enough.

The Hidden Cost of Not Having a CFO

Most firms don’t realize what they’re losing because the cost doesn’t show up as a single line item.

It shows up as:

1. Hiring Based on Fear or Hope

• Hiring too early and stressing cash

• Hiring too late and burning out the team

• Guessing instead of modeling capacity and profitability

A CFO answers:

Is this hire profitable, and when will they break even?

2. Marketing Spend Without Profit Clarity

Many firms increase marketing when cash feels tight.

But without CFO-level analysis, you don’t know:

• Which cases are profitable

• Which channels attract the wrong clients

• Whether volume is masking margin problems

A CFO connects marketing spend to actual profit, not vanity metrics.

3. Cash Flow Whiplash

One month feels fine.The next month feels tight.

Not because revenue disappeared, but because:

• AR timing shifted

• Retainers depleted faster than expected

• Expenses scaled ahead of collections

A CFO builds cash flow forecasting so surprises stop being surprises.

4. Owner Pay That’s Unclear or Inconsistent

Many owners ask:

• Can I afford to pay myself more?

• Am I taking too much, or not enough?

  
  

Without a CFO, owner pay often becomes reactive instead of strategic.

When Law Firms Should Actually Hire a CFO

You don’t need a CFO when you “feel successful.”

You need a CFO when:

• Decisions feel heavier than they used to

• Growth creates stress instead of confidence

• You’re managing complexity, not just volume

• You want to stop guessing and start choosing

  
  

This often happens:

• Before your first big hire

• After rapid growth

• When expanding practice areas

• When margins feel unclear

• When burnout starts creeping in

Waiting too long doesn’t save money.It extends uncertainty.

What a Law Firm CFO Actually Does

Data → Interpretation → Forecasting → Scenarios → Confident Decisions

A CFO helps you:

• Understand which cases, clients, and services are profitable

• Model hiring decisions before making offers

• Forecast cash flow so timing stops hurting you

• Set KPIs that predict problems before they happen

• Turn financial data into clear, confident decisions

Not spreadsheets for spreadsheets’ sake.Decision support.

Real Example: Clarity Changes Everything

A mid-sized law firm came to us feeling busy, but uneasy.

Revenue was growing.Cash felt inconsistent.Hiring felt risky.

With CFO-level analysis, we:

• Identified underperforming case types

• Adjusted staffing based on utilization, not headcount

• Rebuilt cash flow forecasts

• Clarified owner compensation

The result?

• Fewer financial surprises

• Confident hiring decisions

• Improved cash stability

• A calmer, more strategic leadership team

They didn’t suddenly “make more money.”They finally understood the money they were already making.

This Isn’t About Control. It’s About Confidence.

Hiring a law firm CFO doesn’t mean:

• Giving up control

• Becoming “too corporate”

• Losing flexibility

It means:

• You stop carrying the financial weight alone

• You make decisions with clarity instead of stress

• Your firm supports your leadership, not drains it

This Week’s Action Step (10 Minutes)

Ask yourself:

1. Can I clearly explain why cash looks the way it does right now?

2. Do I know which cases and roles are truly profitable?

3. Could I confidently model a hire or marketing increase today?

If any answer feels fuzzy, that’s the gap a CFO fills.

Ready to Stop Guessing and Start Leading?

If your firm has grown more complex, but your financial clarity hasn’t caught up, a law firm CFO can change that.

At TLTurner Group, we provide CFO advisory services built specifically for law firms, helping owners turn numbers into strategy and stress into clarity.

Book a Discovery Call and let’s talk through what CFO support could look like for your firm.

Book a Call

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About TLTurner Group (Law Firm CFO Advisory)

TLTurner Group is a law firm–focused accounting and advisory firm providing CFO-level insight to help firm owners make confident, strategic decisions. We specialize in translating financial data into clarity around cash flow, hiring, profitability, and growth so law firm leaders can build stable, sustainable practices without burning out.