Despite today’s times being better for many law firms, the positive trends do not signal a return to the gilded pre-2008 days; unfortunately, those days are gone for good. Law firms are fighting for market share in 2017 in an arena vastly more competitive than the one that existed a short decade ago.
Competition is
Succession planning of client relationships at law firms requires a thoughtful examination of a law firm’s past, present and future. Managing the transition of a senior lawyer’s practice to younger counterparts is not easy. Poorly understood and executed, it can result in a loss of both valuable business and a cherished colleague. The stakes are
Law firm crisis can surface at any time. Its roots can be deep within the firm, or can be the outcome of unforeseen developments. However, or whenever it arises, the affected law firm must react promptly and strategically. A tardy reaction, or a misstep in action, can leave a firm in great danger and on
A dynamic law firm growth tactic involves opening an office in a new geographic market. To move a firm into virgin territory requires careful thought about issues that go beyond simply hiring new lawyers. Indeed, expanding a firm’s footprint requires many considerations, including good intelligence about the new market’s practice characteristics, bar personality and mores,
Law firms that lack energy dim their prospects for the future. Too often law firms pass over the issue of their own vibrancy (whether by a failure of recognition or simple indifference) and plod along without taking corrective action. A becalmed law firm, especially in these times of legal industry disruption, is flirting with danger.
Is the grass greener on the other side? Some small firm leaders envy perceived advantages enjoyed by bigger firms. Leadership at big firms likewise can be found yearning for simpler times when their firms were smaller and the issues seemed simpler. Regardless of size, all law firms must work hard to succeed, especially in a
Law firms perpetually are in transition. In our changing legal environment, transition can arise when business strategy requires adjustment, merger is considered, layoffs are implemented, lateral hiring is pursued, leadership succession is at hand (see Cultivating the Next Generation), crisis arises or firm wind-up is decided and implemented.
In addressing any transitional event
The legal services industry is awash with profitability challenges, calls for innovation, and non-traditional entrants. Long-time law firm clients are expecting more from their law firms at the same time they weigh the option of moving work in-house or assigning it to alternative providers. Since 2008 flat demand and financial stress have fueled reactive
A Forbes article entitled Law Firm Leadership Survey: Top Strategic Initiatives of 2017 shared some interesting information about the burning and not so burning issues for today’s law firm leaders. The information was assembled through the work of David J. Parnell (the author of the Forbes article) and noted legal consultant Patrick J. McKenna.
At many law firms that recognize the need for succession planning, preparation for leadership succession receives too little attention. Succession planning can languish for various reasons. In some instances, the press of regular law firm business distracts existing leadership from the issue. In other cases, the topic is an uncomfortable one so discussions are avoided.
