"Sheer Will Is Not the Only Way: What 25 Years of Building Law Firm Infrastructure Teaches...

In this episode of the Think Small Podcast, Michelle Doran, Chief Operations Officer of Shipman & Goodwin LLP, offers a rare and instructive look at the operational infrastructure that makes a 106-year-old, 165-attorney law firm run, and what it actually takes to absorb another firm, build a brand new office culture, and onboard 32 people while simultaneously still learning the organization yourself. Michelle joined Connecticut's largest law firm in late 2024 and within months was leading the most ambitious expansion in the firm's history, absorbing 17 attorneys and 15 staff from Boston's Tarlow, Breed, Hart & Rogers, negotiating office space, integrating technology systems across practice groups, and completing the full integration just weeks before this conversation. With 25 years of law firm operations experience spanning AM Law 100 international firms, regional Connecticut practices, and Research Triangle firms in North Carolina, she arrived with exactly the perspective the moment required. The conversation digs into what a successful merger integration actually looks like from the inside, from listening to every stakeholder before making a single technology decision, to weekly management check-ins that still continue months later, to the deliberate social engineering of getting practice groups in the same room before anyone talks about clients. Michelle shares how Shipman is building brand credibility in a Boston market where it had zero name recognition, why word of mouth and work product quality remain the most powerful marketing tools in professional services, and how AI is changing the way clients find firms before they ever make a call. She closes with the kind of operational wisdom that only 25 years of doing the hard work can produce: will alone is not enough, talent management is your most important investment, and knowing when to lead and when to ask for help is the most underrated skill a business builder can have. Connect: Website: https://www.shipmangoodwin.com/ LinkedIn:   / michelledoran10