I’ve been talking to attorneys across the United States about their practices. In multi-attorney family-law practices, revenues are climbing in a small, steady way after more than 18 months of being flat or down. Some practices are up 10 percent or more, while others are leveling off after a period of decline. Things are turning around. Whew!

In a ten-attorney practice, a 10 percent gain in revenues means it’s time to add an attorney. Or does it? Could it mean, alternatively, that it’s time for all the attorneys to ramp up their effort–and with it their compensation–by 10 percent?

That’s a tough call. Some business advisors suggest that you hire early before you fully have the need. Being ahead of the curve allows you to maintain quality, creates the space necessary to keep growing, and facilitates the ramping up required to absorb the growth. Other advisors caution you to wait until you reach the breaking point before adding people. They push a conservative approach that protects your resources and prevents you from acting prematurely.

I’ve always been a bit of a risk taker: I tend to hire early. For my firm, the adrenaline of having a big payroll drives our marketing. When we need more clients, we work like crazy to get more clients. I’m not sure whether it’s the chicken or the egg or what, but when we need the work, we bring it in, and we only need it when we have too many people on our staff. I know it sounds crazy, and it is, but this approach has always worked for us.

What should you do? I suppose it depends on your goals and your risk tolerance. Many family law attorneys have modest goals and a low tolerance for risk. That’s fine. The key is to accept that you are who you are and to be comfortable with your approach. When those big-goal risk takers grow and you don’t, avoid being upset with yourself or with them. Be happy with the decisions you make and remind yourself that you aren’t where you are by accident. You’re there by design.

What’s the plan? What’s your approach? What are you going to do?