“Too Many Cooks”: What Happens When Law Firms Have No Decision-Making Structure

In a lot of growing law firms, it’s not a lack of good ideas that stalls progress — it’s a lack of decision-making structure.

Who approves this hire?
Can we greenlight this marketing spend?
Who has final say on the org chart?

When the answers are unclear — or worse, change based on who’s in the room — things grind to a halt.

The “Too Many Cooks” Problem

Law firms often grow by cobbling together leadership roles as they go. One partner runs hiring, another runs finance, the office manager “owns” systems — until nobody really owns anything.

And when that happens:

  • Initiatives stall

  • Team members get mixed messages

  • Politics and posturing increase

  • Nothing moves forward without endless discussion

What a Lack of Structure Looks Like

  • Committees with no authority

  • Owners overriding decisions last-minute

  • “Consensus” cultures that confuse accountability with collaboration

  • No clear process for approvals or feedback

This isn’t just inefficient — it’s exhausting.

What Healthy Decision-Making Looks Like

  • Defined roles and decision rights

  • A leadership team that understands scope of authority

  • Aligned strategic goals

  • A system for making — and sticking to — decisions

How a COO Fixes It

A fractional COO:

  • Facilitates decision-rights mapping across leadership

  • Installs structure without bureaucracy

  • Builds an operating system for clear ownership and accountability

  • Helps the firm move faster — without creating silos

Leadership can still be collaborative. But someone needs to own the call — and make sure it actually gets executed.


If your firm feels like it’s stuck in a cycle of endless discussion, let’s fix the structure. I’ll help your team make smart decisions — and actually follow through.

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How to Stop Being the Bottleneck in Your Own Firm