From Gridlock to Greatness

Author: Peter Green - National (May 2002)

Are law firms on the defensive? Clients appear to have taken the lead in the relationship with their lawyers -- at least for the last ten years. Perhaps it's time to shed the framework based on rules, analysis and structures, in favour of one based on opportunities and the market.

With no formal guidance, lawyers develop their own techniques for dealing with client matters - techniques that change little, and only gradually, over time. But these attitudes and practices are very different from those that best deal with the business aspects of law firms -- serving clients and coping with the changes required to maintain and develop the law firm.

The end result is law firms whose lawyers have little business training, have trouble thinking in a client-focused manner, and are highly resistant to change. Such firms have difficulty in sustaining a "can-do" attitude. Some of the barriers to change in law firms probably sound familiar.

"Everything is fine"

There are often many partners in law firms who want to keep doing things the same way they've always been done, on the ill-founded theory that little or nothing changes with respect to how one delivers client services, meets client expectations, and addresses work flow and work methods within the firm.

Too busy

Most lawyers are too busy and, in any event, would rather focus on client work than devote any portion of every work week to the development of the firm, the marketing of their own practice, or the discussion of and decision-making around issues confronting the firm.

Lack of leadership

Unlike other business organizations, many law firms develop leadership and management models reluctantly, tentatively, and often with too many layers of approval required before action can be taken.

Individually and collectively, partners in law firms often fail to give sufficient support to the leadership of the firm. This is embodied not only in the indifferent or critical attitude of some partners, but also in the failure to recognize the value of leadership, its role in the firm, and the requirement for compensation and other policies that will provide leaders with the incentives to carry out both leadership and management roles within the firm.

Ultimately, a law firm that decides to get with the program and make the significant changes that will make it truly competitive must set goals, choose among strategies, develop a plan and mandate the leadership team to ensure the execution of the plan. Some firms have done it; many others are overdue.

One way to start this process is to involve clients. By having clients or corporate counsel - or better still, both - present at your retreat or other firm meeting, you can learn how the firm can better meet client needs.

Develop a program by which each lawyer talks to two clients each week. This will keep the firm up-to-date about the client's world and give partners an incentive to customize their approaches to each client.

The information and ideas harvested from these types of lawyer-client interactions make the law firm more client- and market-sensitive. They should provide the motivation to focus on maintaining and growing the services the firm provides and improving the service delivery methods for those clients.

This lawyer-client interaction provides a basis for the firm's lawyers to accept and support the firm in making the changes necessary to improve the competitiveness of the firm.