Most professionals review their financial portfolios regularly. They assess what’s performing, what’s stalled, and what no longer fits the strategy. They make deliberate decisions about where to invest time and capital.

Almost no one applies the same discipline to the most valuable asset in their professional life: their relationships.

The Asset You’re Not Managing

A contact base that isn’t actively maintained doesn’t stay neutral. It erodes.

The client you worked with intensively three years ago and haven’t spoken to since? They’ve moved on. The colleague who moved to an interesting company but slipped off your radar? They needed someone with your expertise last month and called someone else. Not because they don’t respect you. Because you weren’t visible when it mattered.

These relationships rarely end dramatically. They fade.

The result? The contact still exists in your CRM, you might see their LinkedIn posts occasionally, but the connection has gone quiet. Reaching out can feel awkward, like calling someone after years of silence and pretending nothing happened.

Here’s the thing: it’s normal and it happens to everyone. Acceptance is the first step.

Honestly Review Your Contacts

Before you reach out to anyone, spend time understanding what you’re working with. The audit must come first – and it must be honest

Think about your contacts in terms of relationship temperature, not industry or revenue. Who have you spoken to – not emailed, not liked on LinkedIn – in the last twelve months? Who is in a position today that didn’t exist when you last connected? And critically, who should no longer be on this list at all?

That last question matters more than most people expect because it focuses your attention. Most people, when they do this exercise, honestly, discover their active network is significantly smaller than they assumed. That’s not a failure, but it is useful information.

The Intelligence You’re Not Using

Today, you don’t have to guess what’s happening with your network. The information is largely available, it just isn’t being collected and used.

LinkedIn, when used as an observation tool rather than a broadcasting platform, reveals role changes, company news, and professional milestones in real time. Google Alerts costs nothing and takes minutes to set up. Think of it as preparation.

The professionals who reach out at the right moment with a relevant observation aren’t lucky, they are paying attention.

Outreach That Doesn’t Announce Itself

The worst business development communications have one thing in common: they are obviously about the sender. The most effective way to revive a dormant relationship is through outreach that asks for nothing.

This sounds simple, but most professionals struggle with it. We are conditioned to view every interaction through the lens of business development, which makes outreach feel transactional even when we don’t intend it to be.

A true no-ask message might congratulate someone on a recent accomplishment, share an article relevant to their work, or simply note that you were reminded of them. Keep it brief. Three or four sentences at most.

The other type of outreach references something real and it makes a defined ask. Not a vague coffee, but a stated purpose: “I’d like 20 minutes to understand what’s on your plate this year.”

That’s the difference between managing a network and investing in one. Investment requires putting something in first.

The Team You Are Probably Underusing

If your firm has marketing, communications, or business development professionals, you need to leverage their capabilities. These teams have access to tools, data, and perspectives that you don’t have or at least don’t have time for.

Here are a few things they can help with – research a prospect before you reach out, monitor clients for news and trigger events, audit your CRM so it reflects reality rather than history, and help identify which relationships are worth reactivating.

What only you can do: have the relationship, exercise the judgment, make the call.

Spend 30 minutes with your BD team and share your top 20 names. Ask what they know. It will almost always surface information you didn’t have.

A Career-Stage Reality Check

As with everything in this space, your approach should vary depending on where you are in your career.

Early career: Your list is small – that’s fine. The goal is habits, not volume. One substantive outreach per week is a practice. That person you were in school with may be a decision-maker later. Be there when they need you

Mid-career: You have more contacts than time. Prioritization is the skill you need to hone. Identify your top 15-25 contacts with real and genuine potential. Give them real attention. Trying to actively maintain 200 relationships means maintaining none of them well.

Senior level: Relationships built over decades still erode without attention. Bringing in colleagues and broadening points of contact is good practice management and good client service. Don’t underestimate the weight your personal outreach still carries.

What Results Actually Look Like

Let’s be honest about timelines. Not every reconnection will lead to new business. You must be comfortable with that. Some relationships are valuable for referrals, others for knowledge sharing, while others simply for what they add to your professional life.

Real near-term results look like this: a conversation that surfaces a need you didn’t know existed. A referral that traces back to a reconnection made months ago. A CRM that your whole team can actually use. One dormant relationship genuinely reactivated.

Make It A Habit

There is a version of professional life where business development is reactive — something you do when work slows down. Most professionals spend most of their careers there.

There is another version where your contact base is something you understand clearly and draw on strategically. Where your outreach is specific enough that people actually respond. Where the relationships you have built translate into opportunity. Not because you are the best at what you do, but because the right people know it at the right moments.

The difference between those two versions isn’t talent or luck. It is whether you are managing your network or investing in it. Professionals who do this consistently don’t win because they are lucky. They win because they are visible.

The post Stop Managing Your Network. Start Investing in It. appeared first on Slaw.

A few years ago, I was asked to review a law firm’s student recruitment program. The firm had a respected brand, an engaged student committee, and a long history of bringing in summer and articling students.

The assignment seemed straightforward: review the process and suggest ways to strengthen the program.

So, I began by following the time.

There were student committee meetings. Planning sessions with marketing and talent professionals. Law school outreach events and receptions. Resume reviews. Interview preparation. Full days of interviews involving partners, associates, and administrators. Post-interview debriefs. Offer discussions. Candidate follow ups.

By the time the exercise was complete, we had mapped hundreds of hours of lawyer time.

Then I translated those hours into billable value and added the related hard costs.

The number surprised everyone.

For a firm of moderate size, the annual cost of running the recruitment process alone exceeded $500,000.

And that number did not include the investment in the students themselves. Salaries. Training. Orientation. Mentorship. Administrative support. The many hours lawyers spend teaching, reviewing, explaining, and guiding.

None of this is criticism. Student programs are one of the most important investments a firm can make. They shape the future partnership pipeline, reinforce culture, and allow firms to develop lawyers from the earliest stage of their careers.

It is also worth acknowledging something most firms already understand: students are not expected to be profit centres. Their value lies in the long view. The goal is to develop capable lawyers who will, in time, become productive and profitable contributors to the firm.

But when you step back and look at the numbers, the scale of the investment is striking.

Which raises a reasonable question.

Are firms getting the return they expect?

How often are most students hired back? How much student time ends up written off? How quickly do students begin contributing real value to the firm?

The quiet economics of student recruitment

Student recruitment is both structured and competitive. Committees devote significant time to identifying the right candidates. Lawyers attend receptions, interview days, and campus events. Firms compete with one another for highly sought-after students.

In jurisdictions such as Ontario and British Columbia, the timing and structure of hiring are coordinated through recruitment processes administered by the Law Society of Ontario and the Law Society of British Columbia.

The front end of the pipeline therefore receives enormous attention.

Yet once students arrive, firms often rely on a familiar formula for helping them succeed. Orientation. A principal. Informal mentorship. Exposure to work.

And then the expectation that they will gradually learn how the environment works.

What firms say they struggle with

Recently I asked twenty law firms a simple question.

What are your biggest challenges when it comes to student success?

Four themes surfaced:

• 54 percent said providing adequate legal training and mentorship
• 46 percent cited business development training and support
• 46 percent pointed to challenges building productive relationships with lawyers and staff
• 46 percent said they struggled to derive real value from student work

What is interesting about those answers is that none of them relate to recruitment.

They relate to assimilation.

The professional context students rarely see

Law schools prepare students well for legal reasoning. But the professional operating system of a law firm remains largely invisible to them.

Most students arrive with little understanding of:

• how work actually flows through a firm
• how to initiate finding work
• how internal relationships shape opportunities
• the economics of a law firm
• why mentorship in practice may look different from what they expected
• how lawyers originate work
• how to manage competing demands from multiple lawyers

Students often tell me they spend their first months trying to decode the environment. They are trying to understand expectations, when to take initiative, how to ask for work, and how not to overstep or jeopardize getting hired back.

Many students are left to figure this out themselves.

Yet these dynamics often determine how quickly a student becomes productive, trusted, and integrated into the firm.

What if students arrived better prepared?

When I asked the same group of firms a follow-up question, the responses were revealing.

If students arrived with stronger understanding of law firm dynamics and expectations, what difference would that make?

• 69 percent said students would be more confident and engaged
• 69 percent said they would be more proactive and productive
• 54 percent expected stronger relationships with lawyers and staff
• 54 percent predicted higher student satisfaction and stronger word-of-mouth reputation

That last point deserves attention.

Law firms tend to think of recruitment as a marketing exercise directed outward toward law schools. But there is also a powerful student economy operating quietly alongside it.

Students talk to each other constantly. They compare experiences. They share impressions of culture, mentorship, and opportunity. Reputation among students travels quickly and informally.

Every firm participating in the student market is already part of that economy, whether it realizes it or not.

The overlooked opportunity

The striking thing about student programs is how much effort goes into attracting students and how little time is devoted to helping them understand the environment they are entering.

Orientation programs understandably focus on important operational matters such as IT systems, policies, and administrative procedures.

But the unwritten rules of professional life inside a firm often receive far less attention.

How work is found.
How internal reputation develops.
How relationships are built.
How lawyers begin building practices.

Students typically learn these lessons slowly, through observation and trial and error. Some students are fortunate and their firms have talent professionals committed to some of this training.

A different lens on student programs

The firm I mentioned earlier made a small but meaningful shift after seeing the $500,000 calculation.

They stopped thinking about their student program primarily as a recruitment exercise.

Instead, they began thinking about it as a return on investment question.

How do we maximize the success rate of the students we bring in?
How do we shorten the learning curve for law students?
How do we ensure more students succeed, return, and build careers inside the firm?
How do we strengthen student satisfaction and the reputation that follows?

Student programs have always been about the future of the profession.

But when viewed through the lens of investment, they also represent one of the largest and least examined commitments most firms make to talent development.

Which suggests a useful reframing.

If firms are already investing so much to bring students through their doors, the real opportunity may lie in helping them succeed faster once they arrive.

The post The Hidden Economics of Law Firm Student Recruitment appeared first on Slaw.

Some legal marketers become indispensable strategic advisors. Others stay stuck in the ‘can you make this brochure’ zone. The difference isn’t talent, experience, or even luck. It’s curiosity.

After 20 years in this field, I can tell you: curiosity is a choice and it’s within your control. The marketers who ask better questions, who dig deeper, who challenge assumptions are the ones who earn a seat at the table. They move from taking orders to shaping strategy. The difference? They choose to be curious.

Where curiosity matters most

To succeed in legal marketing, you need four core competencies: relationship building, legal service delivery knowledge, competitive intelligence, and professional excellence. But competence alone isn’t enough. What separates good from great is the level of curiosity you bring to each of these areas.

Relationship building: Show up prepared

When meeting a lawyer for the first time, do your homework. Review their bio, narrow in on their client experience, and dig deep into their LinkedIn. What is their practice breakdown? Where do they spend their non-billable time? What do they engage with online? All firms have ready access to mountains of information. Figure out how to use it effectively. When I was first starting out, I would always ask a lawyer to give me a two-minute summary of their practice. But I never walked in cold. I listened and then I asked targeted questions about their client base, delivery style, ideal client, and challenges. I always asked for their honest opinion, even if I didn’t like the answer. When you get them talking, they open up. When you’ve done your research and ask smart questions, they get hooked. Surface-level conversation leads to a surface-level relationship. Curiosity is what moves you from intake to advisor.

Legal service delivery: Understand the work

You can’t market what you don’t understand. At a litigation boutique, I wanted to learn everything I could about advocacy. I was lucky to work on complicated pitches and learn about litigation strategy from dozens of partners. But to truly understand what happened when cases went to court, I had to see it for myself. So, I asked to join a virtual hearing. I watched a witness get cross-examined. I saw the judge react in real time. I listened to the behind-the-scenes discussion between counsel after court. It changed how I thought about their work and how I did my own. Had I not asked, I wouldn’t have been there. Had I not been curious, I would have stayed on the surface. The lawyers respected the ask and were proud to bring me in. That’s the difference between marketing from a distance and marketing with real understanding.

Competitive intelligence: Know what others don’t

If you don’t know what your competitors are doing, you’re already behind. Do your research. What’s their strategy? Their structure? What can you learn about their market presence? Monitor LinkedIn. Know their C-suite and how they show up. Understand their client base. But don’t stop there. When you see something that challenges your thinking, discuss it with your colleagues. Ask your lawyers how they perceive that firm delivering value. I spend at least an hour every day scrolling, double-clicking, and learning. I see campaigns and try to dissect what’s coming next. I set up alerts, so news finds me fast. This isn’t busywork. This is strategic intelligence that gives you an edge when it matters most.

Professional excellence: Push for more

Curiosity fuels success. The more you know, the better you work. We live in an AI world and preparation has never been easier. But preparation alone isn’t enough. Show up with an engaged, curious mind, and you’ll get more attention. And in legal marketing, how you show up matters.

Here’s the thing: lawyers have a role to play too. A lawyer once asked why we would bother doing a “win review” with a client who already accepted our proposal. My immediate thought? This person isn’t curious about the full picture. Win aside, to compete in the future, we need to know why we won, what we did better, and where we could improve. Not guesswork. We need to hear it directly from the client. Even when lawyers aren’t asking the questions, marketers can. Challenge them and push for the insight. That’s how you stay ahead.

Your move

Curiosity isn’t just about being naturally inquisitive. It’s about making a conscious choice to ask the next question, dig deeper, and challenge your assumptions. To legal marketers: stop waiting for instructions and start asking better questions. To lawyers: if you want your marketing team to move from execution to strategy, create the conditions for curiosity. Invite questions, reward depth over speed (please!), and recognize that the marketer who challenges your assumptions isn’t overstepping – they’re doing exactly what you need them to do.

The post How Curiosity Shapes Legal Marketing Careers appeared first on Slaw.

Disappearing acts pertaining to people, skills and talents have always happened every few years in the global legal services market as the sector continually refreshes itself. But disappearing has never been more prevalent than it has been of late and will become even more common in months and years to come. Act now.

As mentioned in my previous column, I am well aware that my opinions and perspectives especially over the last few years and more so lately are becoming more fearless and urgent as factors impacting the global legal services market surge with a magnitude of force that demands response — not admiration, study, or words — and, most importantly, requires decisive action as the clock of change ticks ever more loudly.

Right now, my concern is for talent transience at all levels within law firms. Talent of all descriptions has been sloshing back and forth and from firm to firm since the pandemic upended how we work. Lately, all levels of law firm talent have quietly retrenched in the hope that keeping mouths shut and heads down will provide safety in an environment undergoing enormous change at the speed of summer lightening.

If only ducking for cover was the answer. However, the working world is now more difficult and will become harder yet. Anyone who has a heart will recognize this struggle in people-terms. However, as a realist, I implore you to realize that law firm life will become more challenging as traditional structures show their age, operational costs and investment requirements increase, and margins become mercilessly lean.

A complete reset is required. This is not about a pivot because a turn will not save a law firm entity. This means a full restructure of how law firms operate and why, along with what tools are expected, required and used, how financing and various forms of it will support the entity, and what talents and skills of humanity are necessary for its survival.

The Law Firm Reset

My last two columns sparked huge reactions. The Law Firm Pyramid Rollover was met with republishing requests, reposts, and commentary. Its companion piece, The Law Firm Private Equity Puzzle, was met with nothing: tomb-like stillness, pin-drop quiet, could-hear-a-mouse-pass-gas silence.

I have been writing opinion columns for legal publications since 2006 and have found that the closer I get to the core of an issue, the quieter the response. Now is no different.

This same core-targeting technique has also been part-and-parcel of my consulting practice, which is to step back to study not just the problem but its context within the big picture before peeling away all that is ancillary to uncover the nut of the issue. Like a sharpshooter, the nut becomes centred in the crosshairs of my sights, I breathe to steady myself, check that others are ready to proceed, and fire. Misson accomplished.

If that sounds mercenary, it often is but it also gets the job done and desired outcome achieved.

And so, here we are with the trigger having been pulled on a legal services market reset that has taken many decades to take form. The reset will both overwhelm and underwhelm its inhabitants depending on where they are in the journey of both their personal and professional lives. But as I have said before, expect massive change to happen well before and certainly by 2030 when the global legal services sector will operate much differently than it does now.

Expect both destruction and rebirth. Many traditionally structured law firms of all sizes and practices will crash and burn because they are inherently fragile and will fail. Likely and unlikely law firm combinations will happen and be politely cloaked as mergers with fallouts of all kinds ensuing after the fact.

From their ashes and also as new builds, we will see legal service entities emerge and flourish as flatter, non-empirical structures that will operate with greater fluidity in terms of talent, technology, offerings, and cost. These entities, which will become much more prevalent, will probably not even be referred to as law firms – and won’t want to be. Nor will they be hamstrung by the lesser-than moniker of alternative legal services provider. They will be sleek, streamlined, client-catering as opposed to client-centric, and entirely different.

Recent Wreckage

Since 2026 began, we have seen three glaring examples of how these changes are playing out in real life. They include the closure of U.S. mid-size firm, McGlinchey Stafford, the crash-and-burn of the U.K.’s PM Law Group, and job cuts at global behemoth, Baker McKenzie.

While these three instances are prime examples of recent upheaval, as of this writing it’s only February. We have a long way to go for the remainder of 2026, never mind my predication that by 2030, the global legal services market will bear no resemblance to what it is today.

Still, let’s sift through some of the most recent wreckage to identify themes.

McGlinchey Stafford, a mid-sized U.S. firm of 160 lawyers based in 18 offices and headquartered in New Orleans announced its wind down after 51 years in early January 2026 and closed on the last day of that month. According to ALM, the equity partners voted to wind down after assessing “several strategic alternatives,” according to a firm press release. The firm cited its shutdown as “the result of a combination of market factors, such as lagging collections, compounded with various internal factors over several years.”

While the dust has yet to settle and, in my experience, there are always numerous factors that stress a law firm or any other business to its breaking point, the underlying cause is almost always money followed closely by people.

In McGlinchey’s case, lagging collections, which is a common problem in many law firms, was among identified issues. “There was no single triggering event or one definitive action that brought us to this point,” the firm said in the news release. “This is not because of any specific attorney’s departure, or any individual financial decision or leadership action that led us to this point.”

On February 1, 2026, PM Law Limited began machinations to close. Its 600-plus people learned the following day that the firm had shut down stranding clients, lawyers, and staff alike. The PM Law group includes more than 20 practices spread across U.K. locations in Yorkshire, Cumbria, and Berkshire with at least 55 fee-earners and dozens of support staff.

Again, the cause appears to be financial. As reported in The Law Society Gazette, “According to the last published accounts for PM Law Limited, covering the year to 31 October 2024, the company had net assets of more than £3m. The firm was owed £6.2m and was due to pay creditors £3.1m within one year. There were no cash reserves.”

Why work-in-progress has ever been considered an asset has always mystified me since WIP exists only on paper. Until a firm receives payment, WIP is as much an illusion as smoke and mirrors. Again, these are early days and the Solicitors Regulation Authority has intervened, so more may be revealed in time.

And finally – at least, as of right now – Baker McKenzie is severing ties with just over 700 people across all offices of its global business services teams, including IT, knowledge, administration, DEI, leadership and learning, marketing, and design among others.

Again, while the underlying cause is money, Baker blames layoffs on artificial intelligence. It said: “To position the firm for continued growth and remain agile in a fast-evolving business context, we recently undertook a careful review of our business professionals functions. This review was aimed at rethinking the ways in which we work, including through our use of AI, introducing efficiencies, and investing in those roles that best serve our clients’ needs.”

“Following the review, and consistent with many other organisations, we are proposing a series of changes to how we operate and deliver important business services. Subject to consultation processes in applicable jurisdictions, some roles will likely be phased out, while others will evolve. We have not taken decisions around these proposed changes lightly, but felt it was necessary to deliver on our long-term plans. We appreciate the valuable contributions our impacted colleagues have made to the Firm and will be supporting them.”

Unfortunately, Unsurprising

None of any of these situations and their results should come as either surprising or a shock. Money is always at the root of almost every upheaval. Add to that, the fact that AI is an efficiency generator, not a wealth creator.

Anyone who keeps their eyes and ears open and stays out of the weeds will have seen this coming since the combination of money and AI carries the velocity of a freight train with the potential to create widespread damage upon collision Therefore, caught between money on one hand and AI on the other, major restructuring and job losses within law firms will remain an ongoing issue for the foreseeable future.

And so there you have it: proof like we need it that the bottom is actively being cleaved off of the traditional law firm pyramid and this now archaic structure is already rolling over and upending like an iceberg.

Advice and Recommendations

Having identified this problem quite some time ago, and seeing it come to fruition, I offer a few pieces of advice that may lead to solutions along with recommendations.

Be a student: If the legal industry is where you want to spend the next five to 10 years – or the entirety of your working life – become a student of it. I don’t mean study your area of practice if indeed you practise law but consistently learn about the entire legal ecosystem and every area of it. Understanding and being completely conversant in the depth and breadth of the legal services sector will enable you to get a sense of what may happen, when, and why. This may also enable you to spot opportunities and get a jump on trends.

Ferris Bueller’s famous last line in the 1986 film Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is apt. “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” I use this quote all the time because it’s true. Let it be your guide, too.

Stay curious: Questioning the status quo pertains to challenging the accepted way of doing things. “This is the way we’ve always done it” has been a tired old go-to response that has led to inefficiencies and outdated practices that have hobbled advancements in the legal services sector since time immemorial. This is one of the reasons legal has always been slow as molasses in January to change and is part-and-parcel of the traditional pyramid structure that like many other fossils, may as well be encased in amber.

Those who question the status quo are almost always the same mavericks who shatter the norms, throw out dusty old rule books, and invent new ways of doing things. These people are the true and stalwart leaders among all of us. Be one.

Network with Intention: A simple yet effective recipe for intentional and efficient networking that beats the standard hi-how-are-ya mixer every time is: 1. Target who you need or want to speak with; it’s best if this person is the decision-maker. 2. Request a meeting about a topic that matters to both of you but mostly to them. 3. Set it up and go. 4. Expect to follow up in a helpful manner, and in moderation and at intervals. Schedule and diarize these interactions.

The simplest methods always work best. The most engaging and consistently engaged lawyer I have ever known kept a notepad on the corner of his desk with a running list of people he wanted or needed to speak with each week and about what. By following this method diligently, he became a wildly successful managing partner of a ground-breaking law firm, its key business driver, a community leader, and finally, a member of the Canadian Senate.

Where to From Here

The bottom line is to understand that changing roles and/or law firms, whether or not it is your choice, is not negative if it enables you to learn and grow. However, regardless of whether you are an employee or contractor, you will want to take agency of your own career whenever possible to avoid others dictating how your life unfolds.

For example, and rather ironically, an individual who lost their job due to working with one of the law firms mentioned earlier in this column informed me years ago, and in an authoritative manner, that law firms only want to work with fulltime employees who stay for years. I countered that wide-ranging consultative experiences with various types of law firms and legal service entities are positive and marketable traits.

Obviously, these two points of view are on opposite ends of the workstyle spectrum. One is not better than the other and both are valid. The important factor is to decide what style works best for you, customize it, and expect it to change over time. And always keep your antenna and guard up, and your network refreshed and up to date.

I have long said that keeping your eyes and ears open and staying out of the proverbial weeds will enable a better chance of you being better than okay. It has been solid advice forever, and in the fast-shifting environment in which we are living now, it may be some of the best advice you are ever apt to get – unless, of course, you prefer to go “poof” and disappear. Then again, for some people, that will be an okay option, too.

The post The Law Firm Disappearing Act appeared first on Slaw.

For most of my career, I have worked on the inside of law firms — advising partners, managing change, fixing things that quietly but persistently get in the way of good work. Strategy. Marketing. Associate retention. Recruitment. Training. Culture. All the unglamorous but consequential pieces that impacts whether a firm thrives or stalls.

Along the way, I noticed something that never really changed.

Every year, bright, capable law students arrive at firms deeply motivated to do well — and surprisingly underprepared for what the job actually requires. Not because they lack intelligence or work ethic, but because no one ever explained the rules of the game.

Law schools teach students to think like lawyers. Firms expect them to behave like professionals in a business.

The gap between those two things is where a lot of early frustration, anxiety, and underperformance lives.

That gap is the reason I started Lawyer Launcher.

The questions students ask

Students and summer associates ask remarkably consistent questions:

• What does “good” actually look like in a law firm?
• How do partners evaluate me when no one is giving feedback?
• How do I ask questions without looking incompetent?
• How much initiative is too much?
• How do I manage my time when everything is “urgent”?
• What do I do when expectations are unclear or contradictory?

Firms, on the other hand, tend to assume that capable people will “figure it out.” Some do. Many do not — or they figure it out slowly, expensively, and with more self-doubt than necessary.

From the firm perspective, I hear:

• “The student doesn’t take initiative.”
• “They aren’t building internal relationships.”
• “They don’t seem to understand priorities.”
• “They wait to be told what to do.”
• “They’re on their phone a lot.”

Almost always, the issue is not ability. It is communication.

What’s Lawyer Launcher?

Lawyer Launcher is not about teaching black-letter law. It is not about gaming the recruitment process.

It is about helping students and junior lawyers understand how law firms actually operate — socially, commercially, and professionally — so they can show up more confidently and contribute sooner.

The content is intentionally practical. How to manage assignments. How to communicate with partners. How to recover from mistakes. How to read the room. How to build trust early. How to survive the first year without burning out or second-guessing every interaction.

In other words: the things people wish someone had told them earlier. Things I wish I knew early in my career in law as a manager.

The podcast: conversations students never get to hear

The centrepiece of Lawyer Launcher is the Lawyer Launcher – Behind the Bar podcast.

The premise is simple. I speak with people who have lived the law firm experience from different but helpful vantage points: partners, general counsel, firm leaders, consultants, recruiters, and lawyers at various stages of practice. The conversations focus less on career highlights and more on how things actually work.

We talk about:

• What partners really notice in junior lawyers
• Common early-career missteps (and how recoverable they are)
• How confidence develops — and how it doesn’t
• What firms expect but rarely articulate
• How lawyers build credibility over time

For students, these conversations demystify the profession before they step into it.

For new associates, they provide reassurance — and often a quiet sense of recognition: Oh. It’s not just me.

Why this matters beyond law school

Although Lawyer Launcher is aimed primarily at students and articling candidates, it has turned out to be just as useful for new associates. This is what managing partners have said.

The first two or three years of practice are where habits form. How lawyers manage their time. How they communicate. How they handle uncertainty. How they interpret feedback (or the absence of it). Small misunderstandings at this stage can compound quickly.

I often work with firms that are frustrated by associate performance while associates are quietly overwhelmed and unsure what success looks like. Bridging that gap earlier benefits everyone.

A student who understands firm expectations becomes an associate who requires less correction, integrates more quickly, and builds confidence sooner. We all know this.

A complement, not a critique

Lawyer Launcher is not a critique of law schools or law firms. Each does what it is designed to do. But neither is particularly focused on translation — on helping people move from academic success to professional effectiveness.

That is where Lawyer Launcher sits.

If it helps students feel less blindsided, associates feel less alone, and firms spend less time correcting avoidable issues, then it is doing its job.

And if, along the way, it makes the profession a little more humane and a little more transparent for the people entering it — all the better.

An invitation to listen to courageous conversations

For students and new lawyers, the invitation is simple: listen or watch on YouTube. Lawyer Launcher – Behind the Bar podcast is designed to surface the conversations you are rarely in the room for — the ones that shape expectations, evaluations, and professional judgment long before anyone puts those things in writing.

For firms, there is a second opportunity. The podcast can be used intentionally as part of professional development: as content for lunch-and-learn discussions, onboarding programs, or informal associate development conversations. It can also be recommended for independent listening, giving students and junior lawyers a shared vocabulary and a clearer sense of what “good” looks like in practice — without adding to internal training demands.

The goal is not to prescribe a single path, but to reduce avoidable friction at the earliest stages of a legal career. Podcast guests often share their regrets and faceplants so listeners can learn from the mistakes of others.

When expectations are clearer, confidence develops faster, feedback lands better, and everyone spends less time guessing. That is what Lawyer Launcher is trying to support — one candid conversation at a time.

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Firms that have multiple lawyers in the same practice who can land marquee clients are in an enviable position. However, if not managed correctly this advantage can quickly turn into a nightmare for the firm.

The McLaren Formula 1 team has this problem. They have two incredible drivers who could each be world champion but only one can stand on the top step. To maximize the team’s success without hindering either of their drivers, they have developed the “Papaya Rules.” The rules are basically race hard but clean, with a team‑first mentality and no contact between teammates.

With a few tweaks these rules could easily be adapted for law firms with multiple high-performing lawyers, encouraging competition while protecting the firm.

What the Papaya Rules Are, And Why They Work

McLaren’s Papaya Rules are a driver code of conduct rooted in fairness, clean racing, and a team‑first mentality. The principle is deceptively simple: both drivers are free to fight, but they must give each other space, avoid contact, and protect the team’s result. The rules are reinforced in race‑time radio messages, reviewed after flashpoints, and continuously refined as circumstances change. Crucially, McLaren does not designate a “number one” driver, even under championship pressure.

This balancing act is exactly the challenge a firm faces when two rainmakers share a practice universe and are regularly trying to outdo one another.

Translating Racing to the Partnership: The Papaya Principles for Law Firms

At a law firm, “racing clean” means channeling competitive energy into client‑winning behaviour without eroding culture, economics, or brand. Papaya Rules for a firm could be:

• Team first, always – When in doubt, do the thing that grows firm value, not lawyer scorecards.
• Compete hard but clean – Don’t battle other members of the firm and don’t engage in client/matter poaching.
• No collisions – If two partners square off for the same opportunity, the process, not politics, decides.
• Equal opportunity – By default, there is no “number one” partner. If the business case supports a preference (e.g., client continuity or sector expertise), communicate it, document it, and balance it later.
• Evolving guidelines – When something awkward happens, adjust and keep trust intact.

Business Development is the Pit Wall

On track, racers execute; the pit wall calls strategy.

In firms, Business Development is the pit wall. It supplies data, sequencing, and communication that enable “hard but clean” competition. Done right, BD helps remove ambiguity before it becomes drama.

Let Internal Competition Drive Success

Healthy rivalry can be great for the firm. Unhealthy rivalry will ruin a firm. The moment star lawyers believe the firm prefers one partner over another is the moment the culture pays and the firm’s long‑term health is at risk.

“Winning at all costs” cannot be the answer. Lawyers should be allowed to win as fiercely as your firm allows, provided they are not trading future trust, culture, or client clarity for a short‑term bump.

When tension spikes, management needs to step back and ask, “What outcome is best for the firm?” then choose an intervention to achieve the firm result.

Lando Norris vs. Oscar Piastri, Partner A vs. Partner B: Some Light‑Hearted Parallels

Every firm has its Lando and Oscar. One is blisteringly quick with outright pace; the other’s racecraft and consistency under pressure wins on Sundays. The point of Papaya Rules is not to prevent hard moves; it’s to make sure those moves don’t send a McLaren car into the barriers.

For F1 fans, these examples will resonate.

• The “Monza divebomb” moment – A bold first‑lap move that costs the team points. This maps to a surprise solo pitch that undercuts a coordinated campaign. Lesson: brief before you lunge.
• The “Hungary swap” call – Restoring order after a team‑driven sequencing snafu is akin to correcting a logistics error. Lesson: fix team mistakes, then let merit decide.
• The “Singapore scrape” – Contact during a congested launch resembles overlapping market pushes that upset or confuse a client. Lesson: concede the messy corner, reassess together, and keep momentum.

Compete and Win

I’ve compared winning, versatility, and teamwork across other industries to legal before, and I’m convinced that looking beyond ourselves only improves how we work. Admittedly, I am a lifelong McLaren fan, so the Papaya Rules likely resonate a bit more.

Papaya is McLaren’s colour. The Rules are designed to let two drivers compete and be their best while driving team success. This mindset suits any firm that has two number ones — and one unstoppable team.

Lawyers love to win. Your firm’s version of Papaya Rules invites your rainmakers to bring their best. Let your lawyers race hard, race clean, and never crash into each other. Give them equal opportunity, transparent rules, and swift debriefs. Then get out of their way just enough for excellence to shine and step in only when the firm’s long‑term winning demands it.

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A new year brings fresh perspective, and Canada’s legal marketing network is full of brilliant professionals who see past current obstacles and consistently move their firms forward. What we’ve always known is that the potential is enormous – law firms could accelerate their strategic evolution by embracing the perspective their marketing and business development teams have already developed.

What follows are insights from six of Canada’s sharpest legal marketing minds, covering strategic evolution, smart budget allocation, digital relationship building, IP-specific challenges, client intelligence, and the trust imperative in an AI-driven world.

I’m in my 20th year in this business, building relationships with smart colleagues like these authors and staying curious about what’s next. Their insights prove that this approach – staying attuned to the market while maintaining that curiosity – is how we succeed, no matter how many years we’ve been doing it.

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The Evolution of Legal Marketing: From Support to Strategy

Chandler Lauzon, Chief Growth Officer, Cassels

I might be forgiven for being cynical about “seismic shifts” in the legal industry – I’ve heard about “the death of the billable hour” for 25 years now. But multiple factors are finally aligning to fuel real, meaningful change:

• Technological advancements that may (will?) upend the economic pyramid of traditional law firm revenue
• The increase in new law firm ownership models and investment from private equity
• A generation anxious about whether the old model of work and compensation will let them achieve their life goals
• The “big firm” model no longer having a monopoly on wealth creation in the profession

The most progressive BD and marketing professionals will accelerate this evolution – and the smartest law firms will enable them. We’re positioned to become what many of us dreamed of as younger professionals: strategic advisors valued for our connection to industries, clients, market opportunities, and the business of running sophisticated firms in this new era.

We’ll move beyond fulfillment to deliver tangible value for external and internal clients. That earned credibility will fuel real innovation and partnership when the legal industry needs it most. Smart leaders will recognize that diversity of perspective includes all professionals – especially those keeping their finger on the pulse of what’s next for legal services.

My team of next-gen legal marketers and our equity partners are embracing this opportunity. We’re modeling client-first behaviours, demonstrating superior market understanding, and bridging human skills with technological change. It’s an exciting time to lead – and an even better time to learn alongside colleagues.

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Smart Spending in Uncertain Times: Where Marketing Budgets Deliver Real ROI

Lindsay Everitt, Chief Marketing Officer, Goodmans LLP

Economic uncertainty forces uncomfortable conversations – but it also creates opportunities for smarter marketing decisions. For law firms, that means ruthlessly reassessing spend and prioritizing initiatives that drive measurable outcomes, not just busy work.

Digital delivers. Well-crafted content, credible thought leadership, and strategic SEO don’t just boost visibility – they demonstrate expertise, build trust, and keep firms top-of-mind when prospects are ready to buy. The results are measurable and immediate.

Meanwhile, it’s time to question legacy spending. Are you funding that print ad or industry sponsorship because it works, or because you always have? Traditional approaches often can’t prove their impact anymore.

This is where marketing evolves from execution to experience. By anticipating client needs, personalizing communications, and adding thoughtful touches, firms can elevate relationships beyond transactions.

The strategy is simple: pause what isn’t moving the needle, double down on what works, and test something new. In uncertain times, smart allocation beats big budgets every time.

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Digital Relationships, Human Connection: The New BD playbook

Kaley Green, Director, Marketing & Business Development, Fogler Rubinoff LLP

In-person meetings still matter, but as business development moves online, marketers must help lawyers build stronger digital relationships through strategic, personal engagement.

What’s working: A blend of thought leadership and personalized outreach. Curated content that speaks to specific client challenges. Authentic follow-ups that demonstrate genuine understanding of priorities. Social platforms like LinkedIn that showcase expertise while inviting meaningful dialogue.

What’s not: One-size-fits-all messaging. Clients expect relevance, not transactional updates. The old “spray and pray” approach of blasting generic messages hoping something will stick wastes everyone’s time.

The winning approach: Use digital tools to amplify human connection. Every touchpoint should reflect deep understanding of client priorities and business realities. Technology enables personalization at scale – but only when deployed thoughtfully.

The firms that master this balance will build stronger relationships than those still choosing between digital efficiency and personal connection.

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IP Marketing Reimagined: Technology Meets Relationship Strategy

Sean Lind, Head of Clients & Marketing, Smart & Biggar

IP firms face intensifying client pressure. Clients want work faster, with more transparency and strategic value – but at lower fees. Much of this stems from AI expectations: if technology can draft documents in seconds, clients assume firms can do more with less.

Marketing and business development are adapting fast. Traditional tactics like large conferences and broad sponsorships no longer deliver leverage. Instead, firms are investing in technology that gives small teams outsized impact – tools that sharpen market intelligence, uncover opportunities early, and provide practitioners with timely, actionable client insights.

Relationship management is evolving too. Firms are moving beyond basic CRMs to year-round approaches that integrate engagement data, sentiment signals, and service metrics. For IP firms, this challenge is amplified. Success depends on managing complex referral networks and reciprocal partnerships with foreign associates globally.

AI agents are accelerating change. Early adopters use them for client research, proposal drafts, market summaries, and communications. The broader opportunity lies in system integration – streamlining matter-level analysis, improving pipeline visibility, and guiding teams toward highest-value actions with real-time ROI insights. These tools don’t replace people – they free BD and marketing professionals to focus on strategy, insight, and client engagement.

For 2026, the winning combination is clear: technology, intelligence, and disciplined relationship management. IP firms that reduce practitioner friction while understanding clients and competitors more deeply will turn technology investments into measurable gains and competitive advantages.

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From Advisors to Partners: The Client Intelligence Imperative

Oliviana Mingarelli, Head of Marketing and Business Development, Fasken

Clients today aren’t just looking for legal expertise – they expect strategic partnership. Through our client-listening programs, one theme stands out: recency matters. They want regular, meaningful contact that shows we understand their business, pressures, and goals.

Success is redefined. Technical accuracy is table stakes. What matters now is bringing insights that move the needle and positioning ourselves as advisors who help shape business decisions, not just legal outcomes.

AI accelerates this shift by enabling personalization and predictive insights – surfacing patterns in client behavior, industry trends, and regulatory risks so we can anticipate needs and deliver tailored advice before issues arise. Voice-of-client programs powered by sentiment analysis will deepen understanding, helping firms respond to emerging concerns and strengthen trust.

The organizational challenge: Firms must evolve from traditional marketing and BD silos to an integrated client success culture. This means embedding specialists who monitor KPIs, leverage data, and ensure every interaction delivers measurable value.

When you tell your story, lead with proof: listening insights, success metrics, and a culture built around client outcomes. The firms that win tomorrow will combine data-driven intelligence with human insight to create seamless, client-centric experiences.

Marketing and BD aren’t just about growth anymore – they’re about building enduring partnerships.

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AI Isn’t the Disruptor. Complacency Is.

Megan Bell, Associate Director, Brand and Strategic Programs, EY Canada

One of the biggest risks professional services firms face isn’t AI disruption – it’s mistaking efficiency for value.

As AI makes analysis, research, and content creation faster and cheaper, differentiation based on capability alone is collapsing. AI is making firms look more similar, not more distinct.

This creates both risk and opportunity. The risk is commoditization. The opportunity is clarity. As AI scales execution, clients are raising the bar on transparency, communication, and decision confidence. They want to understand not just what we’re recommending, but why – and what risks, trade-offs, and judgments sit behind it.

My focus isn’t on using AI to say more, faster. It’s on using it responsibly so professionals can say less, better. Brand becomes a strategic capability: helping people articulate where human judgment adds value, how AI is being used, and where accountability ultimately sits.

AI will absolutely transform service delivery. But differentiation won’t come from the tools themselves – it will come from how clearly firms explain their role in an AI-enabled decision-making process.

When efficiency is everywhere, trust becomes the strategy.

The post Strategic Voices: Canadian Legal Marketing Leaders Chart the Path Ahead appeared first on Slaw.

Unprecedented market conditions are forcing law firms to choose if and how they meet demands of clients and the legal market itself with private equity being a major and, in many cases, deciding factor in enabling solvency and structural reformation.

My opinion column, The Law Firm Pyramid Rollover, that examined how artificial intelligence, pricing, and transience of the legal service sector’s workforce is causing the traditional law firm pyramid structure to rollover like an upending iceberg sparked two strong and opposing reactions: One was numerous republishing requests, reposts, and commentary while the other was dead silence.

The former reaction is flattering but the latter is more telling. In response to that column and others, the silent majority has told me privately that while they identify with my opinions and agree with many points raised, remaining silent is how they feel they must react publicly due to fear of retribution and consequences.

My message to the silent majority is that I hear and see you; I know that you are there and support you.

The Private Equity Puzzle

Legal services is the last sector to rebuff elements of business modernity. As a result, it is now facing an existential crisis. Cracks in the legal services façade and signs of increasing stress appear daily, which is why a silent reaction has always signaled that I’m on target.

While provoking thought is a desired reaction, initiating decisive action is my intention.

That is why in “Pyramid,” I intentionally chose not to discuss how and why private equity is making inroads along with its potential impact on the legal services sector. Because private investment is a major topic, including it would have been overwhelming.

Still, we need to face the PE factor head on. So, buckle up, buttercup; here we go.

Pioneering Experience

With a plethora of private equity articles floating around, I, like you, have been reading about issues pertaining to PE within the legal services sector. Generally, it seems to me that many or most of these articles are the work of individuals trained as lawyers whether or not they practice.

While this is fair and, frankly, to be expected it also seems that lawyers have a built-in proclivity to lean toward legal practice. Perhaps this is because of training and experience and, therefore, is what they know best. Still, it can result in a natural tendency to focus on how private equity could or will affect legal practice with a lesser focus on how outside investment can affect aspects of legal services business, which with a deep business background is what I know best.

Ironically, we’ve been here before, or at least I have. Oddly enough, and if recent prospective client inquiries are anything to go by, my experience with outside investment in law firms is coming back in fashion like turtlenecks, bellbottoms, and gold chains, but with much higher value attached.

Here’s why: I entered the legal services sector in 1998 with a strong business management background, particular experience restructuring and turning around businesses in trouble, and an entrepreneurial temperament. These traits lent themselves to spending three years as the sole markets advisor to Donahue LLP, a 130-lawyer, three-office business law firm that operated within Ernst & Young from 1997 to 2003 as Canada’s first, and so far, only Big Four multidisciplinary (MDP) business legal practice with a U.S alliance.

We were pioneers. The combination of Donahue’s MDP uniqueness with me being its only embedded markets advisor meant I learned the legal business and how to market, manage, and survive in it with the velocity of drinking from a firehose. I loved it. Working simultaneously with EY and Donahue during that time has served me and law firms I’ve worked with very well over the years since. It has also enabled me to write and speak about alternative business structures (ABS), multidisciplinary practice (MDP), and private investment from both a unique perspective and lived experience.

A Ground Breaker

Donahue was a groundbreaking ABS born and operating at a time before “alternative business structure” was a twinkle in the legal sector’s eye, never mind a term in its lexicon. As a pioneering MDP enterprise that went to market as a “one-stop-shop” for professional business services, we battled damn near daily with law regulators who argued that the closeness of lawyers within what was often referred to as EY’s “captive law firm” – imagine how much the lawyers liked that – and the accountants was too close in too many ways.

While, after a six-year, hard-fought run, Donahue wound up Canadian operations in 2003, I find it deliciously ironic – and as a management expert, am delighted and feel vindicated – that almost 30 years after Donahue’s breakthrough, the Big Four’s KPMG won entry to the U.S. market via licensing in Arizona in February 2025.

I also find it amusing that despite barbarians-at-the-gate fearmongering, pearl-clutching commentary, and the ninny-ness of lawyer “specialism,” many law firms worldwide – due to the triple whammy of artificial intelligence, pricing, and talent transience – have been spurred to learn about outside investment and the value of professional management to handle a firm’s operational infrastructure, all of which enables lawyers to do what they say they went to school for: Lawyering.

So, let’s get one thing crystal clear: Private investment is not just coming to legal services; it’s been here for a long time. Therefore, there is no sense standing on the brakes of this business-based advancement but rather keeping an open mind to learn if and how working with outside investment may have benefits for pioneering enterprises seeking new operating structures to survive in the legal services market of today and tomorrow. 

The Last Bastion

Modernization has come to almost every classification of economic activity in the world. The legal services sector is the last professional bastion to be breached by and accepting of modern operational business procedures and conduct. Because the legal services industry is the business world’s last holdout – and to avoid the echo chamber and angst of the legal-beagle set – it is advisable to look outside the law firm purview for change management direction.

Yes, I know; lawyers are different. Being trained to argue, they will often resort to whatever defence can possibly apply at that particular moment that lends some kind of support to whatever position they have taken. Furthermore, they often collect cronies to join them in a pile-on and are apt to consider themselves having won whatever fight they think they are in due to having what they believe is the last word.

Still, my concern is that a tendency to claim rightness may be a deciding factor in winning the battle but losing the war. Not that lawyers who are often subjected to over-simplification as a homogeneous class are the enemy in any way, shape or form, but a lawyer-like risk-averse trait of clinging like a barnacle to what was can often be fatal.

There are also times when I sense a self-selected destructiveness within the resistant ranks of legal services that supports Charles Darwin’s evolutionary theory of “survival of the fittest” and an observation by that old Machiavellian, Napoleon Bonaparte, who allegedly quipped: “Never interrupt your enemy when he’s making a mistake.”

Money Talks

As to private equity, it would be a mistake to say that we have not been party to enabling PE to be active within the legal services sector.

Take, for example, Chambers Global that was bought in 2018 by U.K. private equity firm, Inflexion, that realized a 4.7x return on its investment when it sold Chambers Global to U.S. mid-market investors, Abry Partners, in 2023. After selling Chambers Global, Inflexion bought U.K. law firm, DWF, that same year.

However, Chambers Global being owned by Inflexion from 2018 to 2023 means lawyers and law firms that participated with and were listed in Chambers anytime during that five-year period were enmeshed with a private equity organization. Think about it: Not only did participating lawyers and law firms provide Chambers Global with reams of information – some of it borderline confidential – but also handed over what is often privileged but client-often-reluctantly-approved contact information in the hope that interviews with these contacts could culminate in lawyers and law firms having a chance to be listed in a blessed directory.

The same year that Inflexion bought DWF, Allen & Overy spun off its risk management business to Inflexion and Endicott Capital prior to merging with Shearman & Sterling with the intention to hold a “significant minority stake” in this business that provides finance sector clients with subscription-based online legal analysis pertaining to compliance topics.

As recently as November 2025, U.S.-based McDermott Will & Schulte acknowledged “fielding inbound interest” in private equity investment. When an AM Law 50 firm considers PE funding, any argument that this type of investment is suitable for only small- to medium-size law firms or boutique practices falls away and fails fast.

Private equity is also active in Canada. Speaking personally, in 2024, a venture capital company asked me to access efficiencies of targeted Canadian law firms and consult with the VC to decide which of these firms to approach for potential investment. I declined due to a myriad of reasons ranging from potential client conflict concerns to lack of capacity and general disinterest. It didn’t help that this particular VC had a notion that applying pressure tactics and time constraints was a strategy that would achieve their objective to retain me rather than the resulting zero-sum outcome. (Watch for that.) However, anyone who knows me is fully aware that I don’t take direction well. No independent advisor worth a damn does.

Still, I find it puzzling that when private investment has been active in the legal services sector for years, handwringing about it now seems to be the newest obsession rather than tackling more prevalent factors threatening the business of law, such as AI, pricing, and transient talent that are impacting the legal services sector right this minute. Then again, for some law firms, introducing private equity into their business back office may be a possible solution to solving parts of this puzzle.

Business, Not Practice

Private equity is interested in injecting new capital into legal business, not practice. This is evident in private equity’s investment in other sectors, such as dentistry where PE has bought into the business operations side because that is their strength. They’re not capable, licenced, or interested in drilling teeth.

The same can be said for the business of law where many firms long ago spun off their internal business services into a separate unit to house finance, IT, marketing and business development, professional development, human resources, and whatever else might be applicable, leaving the practice of law side of the firm as a unit unto itself.

It’s this spun-off internal business piece that is of interest to private equity because it’s ripe for conversion to a professionally Managed Services Organization (MSO). PE is well-able to ignite better efficiency aided by professional management, guidance, and resources to streamline operations starting with removing procedures and deadwood (as suggested in “Pyramid”) that seem to be sacred cows to many law firms unable or unwilling to execute this necessary efficiency requirement themselves.

Control Issues and Structural Flaws

The nut of this issue for law firms is the lawyerly trait of needing to have control along with a potential threat – real or imagined – of losing whatever control they think they have. However, running a business is not what most lawyers identify as a strength, nor do many of them want it to be.

Because of PE’s deep understanding of business and that money makes the world go around, there is no danger of them asking such questions as, “What does ‘variance’ mean?” This was a question I overheard a senior partner who – wait for it – practiced business law for 30 years ask another lawyer who didn’t know the answer. (Over the years, I’ve asked other lawyers this question and none has known the answer, which is that variance is the difference between budget and actual that is analysed and reported monthly.) Principles of finance are basic business, which is not taught in law schools, but it is the lifeblood of commerce and corporate management.

Ironically, the reason we’re talking about private equity at this point in time is a direct result of law firm structure history.

Consider what could have happened if law firms of yesteryear had had the sense to structure themselves like almost every other enterprise of commerce by employing both a strict business approach to money along with savvy financial professionals to manage it without interference, rather than what we’ve got now: Law firms that seem to treat their businesses as private clubs or banks, and drain the coffers each year to dole out doubloons to equity partners. If you think about it, the history and absurdity of this antiquated structure is mind-boggling to the point of completely bonkers.

The Problematic Pyramid

The pyramid structure of traditional law firms has always been peculiar due to relying on hierarchy and scaling from the bottom up. Now, due to hair-on-fire business issues that include AI, pricing, talent transience, and private equity, the pyramid structure is flawed to the point of faltering and in many instances, failing.

The hierarchical pyramid structure is the opposite of flatter structures that encourage and enable contributions of ideas, systems, and improvements from all team members regardless of tenure, status, or whatever label you want to put on people. It is how entrepreneurial entities work best and grow with assurance that is based on rock-solid business plans that are also engineered for flexibility within brightline boundaries.

This is why anyone who has worked outside of the legal industry prior to coming into it, quickly and fully grasps an understanding that law firms breathe rare air. How law firms operate and why is often completely mystifying to these people since law firms in general and their operations in particular usually defy both business principles and basic logic. As a result, there are many law firms that are successful by sheer accident. I should know having experienced this many times since 1998, and I’m not alone.

For outsiders who join legal services, their physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual safety valves require taking the work seriously and either cultivating or being naturally blessed with both a sense of humour and the ridiculous. Otherwise, and without these personal and professional features, they will often up sticks and go elsewhere.

Backward, Then Forward

A strong sense of self is a sanity and safety mechanism because egos are a major factor within legal services. I’m not talking about one’s sense of identity or self-worth that is important for each of us to have and nurture, but rather about the fragility of humanity and its potential for failure than can manifest as toxicity and/or oversized perceptions of self-importance that demand constant validation.

Another factor is the notion of legacy. Legacy is a fallacy because changes or advancements made at the time of their doing tend to fade sooner than you think. Again, I should know having made systemic changes to structures and operations of various law firms only to see some of these improvements backslide and for a firm to eventually revert to its former state. Oftentimes, I’m asked to return and shore up what was lost. However, recognizing the overarching futility and that I’d be doing it solely for money – which runs contrary to my ethical streak – I usually don’t bother since without consistent management and reinforcement, improvements are often like sandcastles on a beach; the tide or a storm will eventually sweep them away.

Because the practice of law is an evidence-based profession, there is a strong reliance on using data as proof especially in troubling times. Management expert, Peter Drucker, said, “The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence – it is to act with yesterday’s logic.” I go one step further and suggest that a reliance on data means working with dated information culled from history since that’s what data is: Historical. This means that even with all the data in the world allegedly acting as proof, that old chestnut: “Past performance is not indicative of future results” is the perfect argument.

Therefore, the trouble for the legal services sector in coming to grips with the understanding that while precedence is a basis on which the practice of law sits, any data culled from history are not one whit predictive of the future pertaining to the business of law. This is why that terribly tired yet pervasive old question: “Who else has done it this way and been successful?” has been and always will be a sure-fire recipe for stagnancy and eventual decline.

Still, there are bright spots that happen when the way forward is illuminated by maverick law firms that, determined to pursue active and solvent futures, acknowledge a nodding acquaintance to the existence of data but, much more importantly, have the intestinal fortitude to break free of it to think differently, act accordingly, and shatter the mould that defines structures and cultures that confine exponential growth.

These traits are the hallmarks of law firms of the future.

Focus and Act

Distractions are aplenty in the legal services sector, which is why the topic of private equity is “flavour of the [ insert whatever timeline you want ]” and feeds into many lawyers’ professional and personal quirk of admiring the problem (for ages) before hammering out potential solutions, and discussing them ad nauseum before acting.

The problem right now is that the legal services sector is at a precipice. As noted in “Pyramid,” the traditional law firm pyramid structure is rolling over and will upend like an iceberg and by 2030, global legal services will operate much differently than they do now.

While I’m not advocating for private investment, law firms losing their lower tiers of legal talent along with operational stability due to the twin juggernauts of artificial intelligence and pricing are well-advised to consider PE for potentially better and sustainable business solvency. Yes, some degree of control will need to be forfeited to ensure better evolvement and survival, but that’s how both business and life works.

Time’s Up

Lorenzo Pietro “Yogi” Berra, an American baseball player who was probably more famous for his witticisms than his sport suggested, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” Applying that wisdom to legal services where up to this point, many traditionally structured law firms have been successful by fluke rather than design, we’ve finally come to a critical fork in this sector’s road where law firms are now being forced by clients and the legal market itself to choose if and how they change.

There are essentially two paths: One leads to carrying on business as usual and hoping to survive the disintegration of an historically flawed and rapidly destabilizing traditional pyramid structure. The other requires vision, grit, and determination to change the business, its models and flexibility as well as welcoming a multidisciplinary and constantly shifting talent roster to work with and within newer, flatter legal services structures that merge with the modern world to realize solvent and successful futures.

Choose wisely. Be fearless.

The post The Law Firm Private Equity Puzzle appeared first on Slaw.

Artificial intelligence, pricing, and transience of the legal service sector’s workforce will cause the traditional law firm pyramid structure to rollover like an upending iceberg. The result? By 2030, global legal services will operate much differently than they do now.

Twin juggernauts – AI and Pricing – compounded by continuing transience of the legal service sector’s workforce will take a major toll on law firms unprepared for their impact. This reckoning will upend the traditional pyramid structure with the result being that by 2030, the global legal services sector will operate much differently than it does now.

The countdown clock is ticking more loudly by the minute, and yet those in the legal services sector that has a historic penchant for entering races to finish second is, as usual, waiting for someone else to make the first move.

What are you waiting for?

I don’t know about you, but I have had it with the hurry-up-and-wait babble, lip-flap, and word salad of throw-away terms such as “disruption”, “innovation”, and “best practices” that tend to be tossed around like confetti at a wedding by those who prefer to hear themselves pontificate in an endless future-focused echo chamber rather than take a resolute stand and act right now with the ruthlessness of clear-sighted goal orientation that empowers the achievement of crystal-clear objectives.

Actions always speak louder than words, and decisive swift action pertaining to restructuring how law firms conduct legal service business – not practice law – is the key to survival of the fittest now and over the next five years.

Artificial Intelligence vs. Business Survival

The Internet changed the world. AI is flattening it.

Task-based AI-enabled work is well-suited to be volume-produced and commodity-priced at a law firm’s lowest operating levels. This includes both legal and administrative work. Clients, who have also adopted AI and continue to do so, know how this tool works and are pressuring external counsel to reflect faster speed and lower cost in transactional pieces of their outsourced legal work. And rightly so.

The upshot of AI replacing junior legal talent most often tasked with rote work – for which clients often refuse to pay – will result in the lowest tiers being lopped off the bottom of traditionally-structured law firms. Juniors that remain are likely to experience higher than ever stress levels, which are apt to result in increased health care claims and departures.

We’re not blameless and, in fact, have been party to this demise.

For example, a number of years ago a General Counsel friend searching for an eighth Canadian firm to handle a portion of his company’s legal portfolio was approached by a major national law firm offering to conduct the company’s rote work at the firm’s paralegal level and at a deep discount provided that the GC consider the firm when litigation files were up for grabs. Apparently, the firm was either daring or willing to have its sophisticated litigation expertise judged and possibly awarded on the quality of commoditized rote work.

Regardless of the firm making a peculiar bet on the quality of its work product, the GC accepted the offer of a bargain price on rote work. As for what happened to litigation files, who knows but it’s a sure thing as with any unpredictable situation that all bets were off.

Even though this event occurred years ago, the acceleration of commoditized rote work has increased steadily to the point where it can now be handled by AI at a much lower-than-human cost and turned around in a heartbeat.

The Pricing Component

The flip side of the AI coin is pricing. Because these two factors go hand-in-hand, both must be considered simultaneously and executed in tandem. The added wrinkle is that this double conundrum is a core business component, which means that specialized and accredited talents of experts, such as CFOs, COOs, pricing specialists, and data analysts – not lawyers – are critical to the ability to shift to various pricing models that are crucial to a firm’s survival.

This is when lawyers must step aside and let money-oriented businesspeople do their jobs. It’s not that lawyers don’t add value to the pricing process; it’s that lawyers by the nature of their work and orientation to legal practice often confuse practice with business when, in actuality, the two concepts are as different as a zebra and an umbrella.

As an illustration, for a client who is the buyer of legal services and products, cost is a major component in evaluating both the process and outcome as a way to measure value for money. For this cost-conscious client, providing pricing certainty for budgetary purposes enables an avoidance of unpleasant and unwelcome surprises.

This means that the hourly rate will no longer continue to be the standard pricing method. Instead, it will remain on trial for its life and will survive to be used only in select situations and as warranted.

The demarcation between legal service providers who employ AI and modern pricing components and those who don’t is already stark and in the months of come, the gulf between the two will widen.

As for the billable hour, it will continue in a languishing state with and for those who can’t imagine anything else. However, the billable hour will die very shortly or has already died with and for those who can imagine everything else.

Where the Back Stops

Value-based pricing, flat fees, fixed fees, and subscription models are go-to methods for law firms determined to be viable and solvent.

Instituting these models is not a wholesale, all-or nothing transition from hourly rates to modern pricing schemes. Instead, the transition is best accomplished by the deft scoping of every mandate.

This means more work on the front end of a file due to the requirement of having in-depth, clarifying conversations with a client to understand the full end-to-end scope of the matter and its value to the client personally as well as professionally.

The next step is to scope the matter into its composite parts. Once all the matter’s parts are scoped, an assignment of both a pricing model – there can and probably should be different models for different pieces of work – and cost based on experience, expertise, and talent required to produce that particular component, can be assessed and client approved with none of these component parts and costs having any bearing on time.

Flat fees, fixed fees, and subscription models are fairly simple to understand and apply. However, in my experience, very few lawyers fully understand and grasp what Value-Based Pricing (VBP) is and confuse it with discount schemes pertaining to hourly rates.

VBP is not a discount scheme in any way, shape, or form. In a nutshell, value is a measurement of worth. Worth is determined by how much more value a client receives from you than you receive from a client in payment. Therefore, value-based pricing is determined by how what you provide to a client benefits them now and over the years to come.

Clearly understanding your client’s business and industry along with how what you provide impacts them professionally and personally is the starting point. This deep level of discovery needs to happen every time for every client on every matter because they, their business and lives change continually, which you won’t know about unless you ask many questions and probe for nuance … Every. Single. Time.

The challenge for law firms is that VBP, in particular, requires a complete alteration of mindset, culture, business structure, and lawyer compensation. This is why AI is the ultimate pricing and restructuring lever.

The Domino Effect

The domino or knock-on effect of the traditionally-structured law firm rollover is that without young associates and students handling rote work – which is often referred to as “training” for some unfathomable reason – mid-level lawyers won’t have the supports they’re used to but will still be expected to self-sustain and bring in new business.

At the top levels, senior lawyers who can retire will do so, leaving those who don’t, won’t or can’t retire holding both the firm’s responsibilities and purse strings in fewer hands.

The end result for many of these firms will be structural cave-ins due to one of two scenarios: 1. Overweighted equity at the top, a compromised centre, and weak support at the bottom – think reverse pyramid, or 2. Lesser equity at the top, a bloated middle, and again, weak support at the bottom – think diamond shape, which is why rollovers will upend traditional law firms like icebergs when their weight distribution changes.

Cave-ins will be considered a “collapse” while, as a rescue mechanism, law firm acquisitions and mergers will happen aplenty.

Redundancy and Rightsizing

What about everybody else who works in law firms? As you’d expect, it’s fair to assume headcount to decrease at all levels and roles throughout traditional law firms due to the bottom being lopped off the pyramid structure.

As most often happens during times of rightsizing, many of those who are released will be professional staff who are not lawyers. This is because lawyers are considered revenue generators while professional staff are perceived as overhead.

However, nothing is further from the truth. Professional staff provide the business structure of a firm, particularly in terms of financial and technology management, as well as data analytics, pricing, marketing, and business development talent who enable targeting of prospective clients as well as expansive cross-servicing to current clients with efforts applied to both classes of clients that convert to sales. This level of infrastructure enables lawyers to do what they say they went to law school for – lawyering.

The problem is that even though this level of infrastructure provides the rebar that supports the business of a law firm, lawyers prefer not to pay for it but instead will often elect to bring in more unsupported legal billing talent.

And around and around we go.

The Dreaded Deadwood

Worse yet, many firms continue to carry deadwood – non-productive people of all stripes who are freighted like a ship’s ballast. While in shipping terms, ballast enables stability, deadwood impedes forward motion similar to a ship dragging an anchor.

This peculiar phenomenon has been going on in the legal services sector forever and ranges throughout many firms from partners to staff who are carried for a cornucopia of reasons, including: habit, fear, non-transferred or hoarded intellectual capital and production skills along with knowledge of and politics pertaining to where bodies are buried – hopefully, figuratively – along who put them there…you name it.

Deadwood is one of the most pervasive, pernicious, willfully ignored, and systematically unaddressed symptoms of a law firm fated to be a ghost ship or hit the rocks. We know it, talk about it and yet this problem persists.

This is why law firms determined to survive come AI and Pricing, and hell or high water must make hard and unwavering decisions, have tough and uncomfortable conversations, and restructure themselves ruthlessly to be flatter, non-hierarchical enterprises that are streamlined, sleek, and seriously ultra lean.

A Restructuring Warrior

Having helped law firms restructure practices groups, industry teams, client service departments and firm-wide client-facing systems, I understand the peculiarities and sensitivities of doing so within the legal services sector.

However, having also successfully led two major business turnarounds prior to my life in legal – one company that was privately held and the other that was public, federally-regulated and unionized – by fixating on core business and eliminating all that was ancillary while maximizing profit margins, executing on an exact schedule with short-term goals, mid-term milestones and long-term objectives, and keeping intact a team that embraced the vision, I have first-hand experience and the scars to prove it that heavy restructuring is an unpopular role that, metaphorically, will result in needing to remove knives from your back during the day before resting at night, an act that will continue mercilessly until the job is done.

Restructuring is warrior’s work that demands proven business acumen, deep management experience, and uncompromising rigour along with a calm demeanour as well as flexibility, determination, and grit along with senses of both humour and the ridiculous.

There’s a dearth of that type of mercenary talent within most traditionally structured law firms – and a fear of contracting it in – which is why heavy restructuring within the legal services sector has yet to happen proactively, and won’t if and until it has to by necessity and only at the last minute.

Gradually, Then Suddenly

The phrase “gradually, then suddenly” originates from the 1926 novel, The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway when, in response to being asked how he went bankrupt, the character Mike says, “Two ways: gradually and then suddenly.”

It illustrates that even though change seems sudden, it’s often the compounded result of a process that been in production for a long time.

For many years we’ve been conditioned to hearing, reading and talking about change awaiting us in the future. That’s because this type of messaging is often used to create a frisson of attraction, excitement and urgency. However, this messaging is false because change happens by increments and in nonlinear fashion every single second of each and every day.

Such is the case of the traditionally structured hierarchical law firm pyramid, which is why and how this structure is in the evolutionary and unstoppable process of gradual destabilization that will cause it to roll over like an iceberg and upend suddenly.

To that end, act now – and fast – or prepare to go under.  

The post The Law Firm Pyramid Rollover appeared first on Slaw.

Over thanksgiving weekend, in a Montreal hotel lobby, I spotted a cluster of matching suitcases with identical jackets draped over them, each one with “Canada” in bold letters across the back. I turned to my family and asked, “Do you think they’re part of Team Canada, travelling together, prepping for the winter Olympics?” My family wasn’t nearly as curious, but they could see the pure joy and excitement all over my face. That moment made me think about the best legal marketing teams I know, because they operate the same way. They win when they’re focused, when moving in the same direction, and prioritizing three fundamental things: working hard, trusting teammates, and building resilience.

Working hard is a game-changer

Working hard in legal marketing isn’t just about putting in the hours – it’s about understanding that brilliant strategy means nothing without flawless execution. Take a proposal: you can have the strongest win themes and be pitching the most experienced team, but if you can’t stick to the timeline, coordination breaks down, or the final presentation lacks polish, all that strategic thinking goes to waste. The best marketing leaders understand this balance – they’re thinking three steps ahead while ensuring every detail gets handled today. It’s this dual focus that transforms a group of talented individuals into a winning team.

Trusting your teammates is a competitive edge

Trusting your teammates in legal marketing means creating an environment where ideas flow freely and everyone feels empowered to contribute their expertise. The most successful marketing teams ensure that everyone has a voice – the business development coordinator knows they can flag issues without hesitation, the events manager knows leadership has their back when a key client event hits complications, and the proposal writer knows that a practice group leader will provide critical and strategic input. This trust is built through consistent and transparent communication where team members listen to understand, not just to respond. When that trust is in place, breakthrough moments happen. Trust means giving people room to excel at their position while ensuring the entire team has what it needs to win together.

Building resilience is the name of the game

Building resilience is where legal marketing teams show what they’re made of – rejection of ideas, last-minute changes, and impossible deadlines are all part of the game. The difference between marketing teams that thrive and teams that just survive is how they respond when things get tough. Resilient teams don’t crumble when an idea gets rejected – they analyze what they learned, extract what can be used moving forward, and plan their next play. Constructive feedback from a lawyer or client becomes market intelligence that strengthens the next opportunity. The most determined teams know that persistence often outlasts the competition – while some may back down (or even give up!), they dig deeper, pivot to a new approach, and drive fresh ideas forward. Resilience isn’t just individual toughness – it’s about building teams that thrive under pressure and bounce back stronger.

I’ve just rejoined a firm where I spent close to a decade early in my career. Part of why I returned is that I want to build a high-performing team – one that works hard, trusts each other, and stays resilient. Just like that (potential) Team Canada squad that I spotted in Montreal, we’re going to move as one and focus on winning.

The post Legal Marketing Is a Team Sport appeared first on Slaw.

The successful lawyers I speak with know that exceptional legal skills are table stakes. Beyond the law, their differentiator is their ability to build relationships, attract ideal clients, and generate consistent referrals. This is where strategic business development planning becomes your competitive advantage.

Without a plan, lawyers may find themselves randomly chasing opportunities which leads to inconsistent results. A good business development plan helps you stop chasing and help transform or eliminate those reactive ideas so you can spend your precious time pursuing opportunities that will lead to business.

After working with hundreds of professionals across solo practices and large firms, I can tell you that the highest earners aren’t always the most brilliant legal minds. They are the ones who treat business development like any other skill – with intention.

What Goes Into Your Plan?

Your plan should answer four basic questions:

• Who do you want as clients? Look at your best current clients. What do they have in common? What industries are they in? What size are they? Start there.
• What are your goals? Be specific. “Get more clients” isn’t a goal. “Sign 5 new clients worth $50K each by December” is.
• How will you reach them? This is your strategy. Will you network? Write articles? Speak at events? Pick what makes sense for your practice and is in your comfort zone.
• How will you know if it’s working? Track! New inquiries, referrals, speaking gigs – whatever matters to your practice.

Business Development Activities

Don’t overcomplicate this – focus on activities that build relationships and showcase your expertise.

Your clients are your best source of referrals and will have additional work, so check in with them regularly, not just when you need something. These conversations may reveal new opportunities within their organizations or connections they can make for you.

When you network, go where your ideal clients and referral sources actually spend time. Quality beats quantity every time. Try to have meaningful conversations with five people rather than collect fifty business cards you will never follow up on.

Create content that genuinely helps people solve real problems. Write articles, give talks, post on LinkedIn. Share what you know in plain English that non-lawyers can understand. This positions you as the go-to expert in your field and gives people a reason to remember you when they need legal help.

Build relationships with other professionals who serve your target clients. Accountants, consultants, bankers – they all refer legal work to lawyers they trust. Take them to lunch, refer business to them when appropriate, and stay on their radar through regular communication.

Get involved in your community through volunteering, joining boards, or sponsoring events. People hire lawyers they know and trust, and community involvement builds that foundation of trust over time while also expanding your network beyond just other legal professionals.

Using Your Plan All Year Long

Lawyers that create a plan in January and forget about it by March fail at BD. Don’t be that lawyer.

Every three months, sit down and honestly assess what is working and what isn’t. This isn’t about being perfect – it’s about being smart with your time. If networking events aren’t generating any leads after six months, maybe it’s time to try content marketing instead. On the flip side, if speaking at industry events is bringing in great clients, look for more speaking opportunities.

Break everything down into bite-sized pieces which may mean your annual goals become monthly actions. This means you should be researching and applying to speak at events every single month. Want to publish 12 articles? That’s one article per month.

Business development doesn’t have to consume you, even 30 minutes a week of consistent business development adds up to real results. Use that time to send a few LinkedIn messages, outline your next article, or follow up with someone you met at a recent event. Be consistent. It’s better to do something small every week than to do a big push once a quarter.

Work with your calendar not against it by paying attention to your busy times. Most lawyers get slammed in March and again in September when everyone’s back from summer vacation. Don’t schedule big networking events or plan to launch new initiatives during these times.

Track, track, track! Be mindful of what you are doing and the results you are achieving. A simple spreadsheet works fine – you don’t need fancy software. Note what activities you did each month and what came from them. Did that chamber of commerce event lead to any inquiries? How about that article you published? You can’t improve what you don’t measure, and you’ll be surprised by what works versus what you think works.

How Technology and AI Make This Easier

The right tools can save you hours and help you be more efficient. Use technology to do the routine stuff so you can focus on building real relationships.

CRM systems keep track of all your contacts and conversations. Email automation can nurture prospects while you focus on billable work. Social media scheduling tools let you plan posts in advance. These do not have to be expensive programs. For a few hundred dollars, you may free yourself from hours of work.

AI writing tools can help you create content faster. Need a LinkedIn post or newsletter article? AI can give you a first draft in minutes. Use AI to scan news about your clients or research prospects who might need your services.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Don’t try to be everything to everyone. Focus. You will be more memorable and referable.
• Don’t neglect your current clients while chasing new ones. Your best clients are sitting right in front of you.
• Don’t give up too quickly. Business development takes time. Most lawyers quit after a few months when they don’t see immediate results.
• Don’t forget to follow up. Most business development opportunities are lost in the follow-up, not the first meeting.

Getting Help with Your Plan

If you are with a firm, involve your marketing team in the process. They can help with content creation, planning, and tracking results. Talk to your most successful partners – they’ve figured out what works for them and may have ideas of how to build your profile.

If you are a solo practitioner, you don’t have to go it alone. Join your local bar association’s business development committee. Find other professionals to meet with regularly and share ideas or consider hiring a coach or consultant who specializes in working with lawyers.

Start Simple

Without a plan you are just hoping clients will show up and hope is not a strategy.

Start simple by picking a few activities that make sense for your practice and your schedule. Do them consistently. Track your results. Adjust as you go. The time you invest in planning now will pay dividends for years to come.

Business development planning doesn’t have to be complicated, but it does require discipline. The lawyers who grow their practices are the ones who plan their growth and work their plan consistently.

Stop hoping for growth and start planning for it.

The post Business Development Planning for Lawyers: Your Blueprint appeared first on Slaw.

Artificial intelligence is impacting how lawyers market themselves and grow their practice. However, it’s wise to first consider if and how AI tactics can fulfill business development strategies that convert to achieving a measurable growth objective.

The hype around artificial intelligence is stimulating a fear factor bordering almost on hysteria for many lawyers and their law firms who are fixating on it more than any other concern in the modern global legal services market. While fear can be understandable, mostly because for many the benefits of AI remain somewhat murky, we need to grasp the reality that AI is a tool that, right now, is within our control.

Many law firms and lawyers have been employing AI to execute rote, task-based legal work that traditionally has fallen within a practitioner’s working domain. While off-loading rote work and tasks to artificial intelligence tools opens capacity to higher level work that is more meaningful and valuable to both the client and legal practitioner, AI does not replace valuable human traits – the three E’s: expertise, experience, and empathy – that help earn a professional, legal or otherwise, a reputation as a trusted advisor.

This is why before using AI as a tactical tool, we’re smart to consider the strategy-to-objective components that enable measurable business growth.

The AI Fear Factor

Anyone who has worked extensively with lawyers knows that to get their attention, all you have to do is scare them with risk. This is because risk is more than a four-letter word; it’s a perceived threat and a major component of the fear frenzy around AI.

But here’s the thing: AI is a tool best employed as and when needed to execute a tactic.

A tactic is an action that when executed within a specific time frame supports a strategy. A strategy is one of a series of interlocking decisions that support a measurable objective. Think Objective-Strategies-Tactics tiered as a pyramid.*

Most lawyers I know tend to be tactic or task oriented, ticking off to-do items with a goal of getting things done. While this is all well and good, being task-oriented – and often control-oriented – can lead to treating AI as though it’s an assistant or tackling it like an opponent. It’s neither. It’s a tool. It doesn’t care what you think or how you feel. It can help get things done and best of all, if or until AI takes on a life of its own as Dr. Geoffrey Hinton, a Professor Emeritus of computer science at the University of Toronto warned in his acceptance speech for the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics, you can tell it what to do.

Tooling Around

Once upon a time, tools of legal and many other businesses, included telephones, dictaphones, and typewriters. Then along came photocopiers, which manifested in a cottage industry of eye-wateringly priced, so called business-related disbursements that in my opinion qualified as extortion. The advent of the fax machine that enabled speed, trimmed some but not all of the fat from those juicy disbursements.

Fast-forward to our digital world where we can work wirelessly from anywhere using a computer that often fits in our pocket. While this can be beneficial to both a practitioner and client, oftentimes digital assets designed to enable convenience and delegation can result in hit-and-miss consequences.

The Hit and Miss of AI

Take, for example, AI-enabled chatbots used for client intake. Chatbots can triage prospective clients, collect preliminary information, and route inquiries to appropriate legal talent. Chatbots are allegedly designed to do two things: 1. Improve a client’s experience; and 2. Accelerate a law firm’s response time while weeding out timewasters and tire-kickers.

But let’s call a spade a shovel: A chatbot is a lawyer-oriented tactic because it’s geared to support the strategy of handling only those matters that sit dead-centre within one’s professional wheelhouse with work supplied by targeted clients qualified to pay for it, and cull everything and everyone else. Doing so supports a growth objective of increasing revenue and annual profit by fill-in-the-blank per cent.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with this as a tactic supporting a strategy that converts to an objective for a lawyer or law firm. In fact, I endorse it.

However, using a chatbot as a business development tactic can backfire and even cause reputational damage because it provides precious little benefit to a prospective client since, due to its artificiality, a chatbot is cold, imperfect, not nuanced, often frustrating, and makes a potential client do all the work from the outset.

Silence of the Chatbot

This was the finding of a few testers who I asked to try out chatbots on websites of a handful of law firms some time ago. They filled in forms, hit send, received confirmation that their query was accepted, and then were met with silence. The upshot was that these testers who were prospective clients with work relevant to these firms were disappointed, made disparaging remarks about them solely on the basis on the non-response, and took their business elsewhere.

While this may have been the best solution for these prospective clients, it may not have been the best outcome for the firms. But we’ll never know because they didn’t respond or take the time to learn more about the nuances of these clients’ needs.

This is an instance where silence isn’t always golden and AI-delegation can cause extrapolated and even compounded loss, including: 1. Loss of potential business that may or may not be within your wheelhouse, and 2. Losing an opportunity to be a valuable connector who introduces a client in the time-proven pay-it-forward tactic of a referral that supports a rising-tide-lifts-all-boats strategy that tends to convert to the objective of business growth, which due to reciprocity usually includes one’s own.

Legal Service Remains a People Business

I expect this issue is symptomatic of my observation that “growth mindset” is evoking a narrow scope pertaining to growth of an individual or firm rather than growth for the greater legal community and good.

This behaviour may be due to fearfulness referred to earlier, which can morph into a notion that AI will replace lawyers – it will replace some, for sure – and cause an acceleration of production speed that will undermine the billable hour – fingers crossed. Still, I don’t think efficiency pertaining to AI and its adoption should be an all-encompassing fret factor as long as legal service remains a people business.

Yes, AI can help lawyers to be perceived as knowledge experts by generating marketing content for blog posts, newsletters, and social media platforms. However, AI has its own voice, and its voice is not yours.

This is why it’s best to use AI to research and support your ideas and write in your own words to retain and project your own voice, thoughts, tone, and personality.

The Personal Touch

Marketing is about continuing to build profile within your chosen market. Business development is about nurturing relationships with people in your chosen market whether or not they have work for you, support your endeavours, or applaud your contributions.

Both marketing and business development enable market positioning that provides a foundation for growth within your chosen field by honouring relationships that are crucial elements of your community, both professional and personal.

And all of it hinges on human values of thoughtful listening, insightful questioning, understanding, and empathy.

While AI may have computational “thinking type” functions, it comes by its name honestly. It has an ever-increasing degree of intelligence as a result of learning by human input, but it remains artificial and has yet to have a heart.

Until it does, the curses and blessings of our humanity and enormous range of distinctive and individualized personality traits that span from curiosity and compassion to humour and perspective, and intuition and imagination remain our superpowers.

* My Objective-Strategies-Tactics Pyramid is a no-fail business, markets, and management tool that I have used in many circumstances and industries over the last 30 years because it works every time. I will be writing about it shortly. Watch this space.

The post The Legal Market Intersection of Artificial Intelligence, Business Development, and Measurable Growth appeared first on Slaw.

The most brilliant legal strategy means nothing if your client doesn’t understand it. Yet as lawyers lean toward complexity and precision, clients need something different. Lawyers sometimes forget that effective communication isn’t just about being right – it’s about being understood.

When clients do not understand the advice they are receiving, the consequences can be far reaching. Misunderstandings can lead to poor decision-making, unrealistic expectations, and ultimately, dissatisfied clients.

Consider a client who doesn’t understand why a particular settlement offer should be rejected and pushes for acceptance or one who doesn’t grasp the timeline of litigation and becomes frustrated with what they perceive as lack of action. These scenarios aren’t just client service failures, they are business nightmares.

The Curse in Legal Practice

Lawyers suffer from what cognitive scientists call the “curse of knowledge.” After years of legal education and practice, lawyers forget that concepts that seem elementary to them are foreign to most clients. This curse manifests in several ways:

• Technical jargon: while precise legal language is important, client communications require translation for actual understanding.
• Assumption of context: lawyers assume clients understand the procedural landscape when typically they do not.
• Rushed explanations: time pressure can lead to abbreviated text that may hit the key points but miss the detail that is essential for a client to understand the bigger picture.

Strategies for Clearer Communication

There are many methods that lawyers can use to draft clear communications – point first communication is key among them. The aim of point first communication is to share the main point or conclusion at the beginning of the message, followed by supporting details.

Additional strategies include:

• Layered approach: instead of launching into procedural details, begin with the client’s goal and work backward.
• Use analogies: develop stories that translate legal concepts into familiar terms. For example, litigation can be compared to a chess match where each move sets up future possibilities or how contract negotiations might be likened to buying a house, where due diligence uncovers potential problems before commitment.
• Check-back system: ask clients to summarize what they’ve heard in their own words. Think of this as quality control that invites clarification rather than testing comprehension.
• Visual tools: use timeline charts, flowcharts showing decision points, and diagrams to simplify complex cases.
• Follow up: client understanding doesn’t end when the meeting does, implement a structured follow-up system to make sure your client knows what is happening with their file.

The Business Case for Better Communication

Excellent client communication is undoubtably a competitive advantage. Clients that understand their legal situation are more likely to make informed decisions, appreciate the value of legal services they are receiving, and refer others with confidence.

Additionally, clear communication will reduce the time spent on repeated explanations and client management, improving overall efficiency and profitability. A win for everyone involved!

The Path Forward

Effective communication isn’t about dumbing down legal advice, it’s about elevating client understanding. When clients understand the guidance they are receiving, they become partners in the process rather than passive recipients of legal services.

In a profession where trust is paramount, understanding is the foundation upon which that trust is built. Every conversation is an opportunity to strengthen that foundation by ensuring that your client understands what it is you are doing for them.

The post Bridging the Gap: How to Ensure Client Understanding in Legal Communications appeared first on Slaw.

Succession is a critical yet often ignored component of business strategy that left undone can lead to unfortunate outcomes from client and legal talent departures to law firm failure. Best to act now because it’s not how you start; it’s how you finish.

Do you plan to work forever? Or live forever? For your sake, I hope not. After all, as Bugs Bunny—probably the world’s most famous cartoon rabbit—says: “Don’t take life too seriously. You’ll never get out of it alive.”

Because change happens throughout our lives is exactly why succession and the planning of it is a critical business strategy that, to the detriment of individuals, their families, law firms, colleagues, and clients is often ignored until it’s too late.

It doesn’t have to be this way; however, the planning, process, and execution of successful succession takes forethought, care, and diligence.

Aging Demographics

As I’ve said on other occasions, succession pertaining to aging demographics is cause for concern.

Among the most daunting factors are that in 2021, both the American and Canadian Bar Associations said that most law firms have actively practicing lawyers in their late 60s and 70s. And that partners who are 60 years of age or older control at least half of the revenue in 63 per cent of law firms.

An informal survey of many law firms will confirm that finding; all you have to do is look.

As Baby Boomers born between 1946 and 1964 shift out, the next cohorts, Generation X (1965-1980) and Millennials (1981-1996) expect to step up. And so they should; but they need to do so without impediments created by those who stay too long at the fair.

Shifting Laterals

Remember when lawyers, especially partners, stayed at one firm until they retired or went out the door on a board? Not now. Now, lawyers at all levels are changing firms with such frequency that you need a program to tell the players.

And it’s not necessarily singletons that are switching sides; whole teams are upping sticks and decamping to other firms or setting up their own shops.

If the concept of loyalty exists at all anymore, it’s increasingly fragile due to various factors, including damage wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic that left behind vestiges of various employment concepts, such as working from home that while it embodies many positive attributes, also carries—perhaps among the distrustful—a connotation of noncommitment and stigma of distance resulting in a myriad of negative outcomes.

Aging demographics and shifting laterals are only two major factors of the changing face of law firm life. This is why coming to grips with how to help internal talent at all levels manage the flow and planning of successful succession is an inside job that can often be aided by the neutrality of professional outside support whose sole agenda is successful succession outcomes.

Cause and Effect

I have found that there are four prohibiting factors that impede or stall succession planning:

1. Control: Many of us enjoy control; it makes us feel more secure. The joke’s on us because very little in life is within our control.
2. Possessiveness: Holding onto something or someone doesn’t mean you can take it or them with you. This includes clients who often don’t follow a lawyer who makes a lateral transfer.
3. Fear: Lawyers by nature tend to be risk averse, so fear can be a triggering mechanism. (If you want to get a lawyer’s attention, scare them.)
4. Inertia: Inertia can happen when control, possessiveness and fear gang up on a person’s psyche causing them to lock up and seek safety in numbness.

There will always be lawyers and legal services professionals of all stripes who look forward to closing their careers and jumping the gate with glee.

For those who feel otherwise, there are ways to find safe zones for lawyers as well as their firms and clients to enable healthy conversations about succession along with customized plans and tailored tactics to help a smooth transition happen with dignity and grace.

Intentional Grace

As a foundational element of business strategy, the process for successful succession happens in predicable steps to enable all concerned to be graceful. This is why my recommendation for a successful handoff and exit is to start the planning, process, and steps of succession two to five years out.

This signals that succession strategy and the planning of it, which includes tactics and timelines are intentional.

Planning with intent and executing on a timeline enables succession to become part-and-parcel of a workflow that dovetails with the general business of law firm life that includes client work along with people, business, and financial management.

Dovetailing succession to overall legal service in this manner helps remove stigma and fear that can quickly settle and set like cement if it’s introduced as a factor that exists outside the purview of business as usual.

This is because succession is a factor of business as usual. And it had better be since while a lawyer may not be actively planning for succession, clients most certainly are, and they will act if a lawyer or firm does not.

And that would defeat being both intentional and graceful, which would be a disservice to all concerned.

Smooth Succession

In my experience there are four general rules that help guide a smooth succession.

1. Law firms are businesses; run them that way.
2. Culture enables succession that creates distinction and underscores trust.
3. Succession plans must be transparent.
4. Voice of the client is key to smooth succession and client retention

Law Firms are Businesses

That law firms are businesses and must be run that way is advice I’ve espoused since time immemorial. I stand on my record. This is my hill and I’ve been dead up here for years.

Ironically, as a business that deals with contracts for a living, it’s amazing how many law firms don’t include exit clauses when constructing legal talent entry agreements. Frankly, any lawyer or legal service professional worth his or her salt and their law firm should know that it’s simply good business to negotiate the ‘out’ at the same time as negotiating the ‘in’.

Therefore, including a crystal-clear clause in an employment contract pertaining to when and how succession will happen is simply good business for all incoming professionals, including associates, laterals, administrative management, and those on a partnership track who aspire to individual and law firm growth.

Cultural Distinction

It may be ironic for me as a legal market strategist to say that culture trumps strategy, but it does. Culture is about people’s beliefs and behaviours, which is why there is truth to the notion that managing lawyers is like herding cats.

Still, culture is developed and nurtured, which enables succession to be a market differentiator and hallmark for law firms that value the progression of talent. This does not mean adherence to ‘up or out’ rigidity because strong talent can’t help but show itself, which is why it’s so attractive. However, attractive talent is not a trait that is exclusive to senior individuals, which is why talented individuals at up-and-coming levels must be groomed for elevated success that, yes, will lead to their succession.

Planning Transparency

In my experience, and as I have written more fully, there are four essential steps to succession planning.

1. Selection of successors with the right qualifications and temperaments to serve specific clients.
2. Enable a successor to work in tandem with the retiring partner on matter engagements with the client’s approval.
3. Support the retiring partner as they step back from the client-successor relationship
4. Transfer increasing parts of the origination credit from the retiring partner to successors.

Enabling transparency means that succession happens without mystery and in full light rather than half-light or worse yet, no light for all parties involved in the process.

Voice of the Client

Successful succession gets traction at the client level. Smart firms and lawyers take a client’s needs, wants, and expectations into the equation when planning for succession.

“I love surprises,” said no client ever. When confronted by surprise, it often happens that a client will retaliate—most often quietly—by sending some of their work elsewhere, which is often followed by sending all of their work elsewhere.

Clients are fully aware of to whom they send work and where that lawyer or law firm stands in terms of talent moving on or out. Unwelcoming of surprise, they want to be part of the succession plan, and will welcome and actively support a succession discussion because it is usually in their best interest to do so.

Seeking a client’s perspectives is probably the most critical factor of a successful succession. That’s because a client that takes part in the process is more likely to remain loyal. Another benefit is that the law firm or lawyer that solicits a client’s perspectives is apt to learn more about that client’s needs and how they can be best served by a successor or client team.

Dearly Departed

Very few of us aspire to die at our desks and yet it happens.

While the television series L.A. Law that ran from 1986 to 1994 was fictional in nature, its over-the-top storylines followed the adage that truth is stranger than fiction. The first episode kicked off with a name partner found dead at his desk. This disaster was immediately followed by the firm’s partners bickering about who would inherit his office and jockeying to claim his roster of lucrative clients.

Granted, this story provided an entertaining premise on which to start a hit TV series, however anyone who has spent half a minute working inside a competitive law firm could easily identify that it illustrated precisely why addressing succession and the planning for it proactively is a critical business strategy.

Afterall, smart succession enables grace and dignity—a much more elegant ending than either a fumbled hand-off or dying at one’s desk both of which might prompt Bugs Bunny’s pal, Porky Pig, to stutter his signature sign-off: “Th-Th… That’s all, folks!”

The post Succession — It’s Not How You Start; It’s How You Finish appeared first on Slaw.

Legal Marketing and Business Development executives understand the importance of staying on top of clients, industry trends, and competition. While leveraging the right software can be incredibly valuable, it feels like every week, a sales rep promises that their platform will deliver game-changing insights, and we are missing out by not signing up immediately.

With a glut of tools available to us, how do you choose which ones are right for your firm? Decision fatigue is a reality, so cutting out the noise is crucial when assessing your firm’s needs.

Types of Tools

General Information Tools: Google Alerts is the best example. Add some keywords – for example, your key clients and competitors – and Google will send you an email as often as you like. It is ideal for staying updated on industry news and competitor activities.

Client and Prospect Tools: These tools help us understand relationships better and potentially uncover opportunities. CRM Tools like Clio and Salesforce help track client interactions, communications, and client information. They help you maintain records and support preparation for client meetings, communications, gifting, etc. Tools such as Lawmatics, go a step further by helping to manage client intake, marketing automation, and relationship management, ensuring that no client interaction is missed.

Take this as a warning, whether you use Clio, Salesforce, Lawmatics or another platform, success depends more on process than features. Opting for a simplified approach, focusing on capturing only essential data that drives decisions will dramatically improve your success.

Industry and Competitive Intelligence Tools: For deeper insights into industry trends and competitor activities, tools like Manzama and Zoominfo are great. Manzama aggregates information from various sources, including news articles, blogs, and social media, providing a deep view of the industry landscape. Zoominfo offers detailed information about companies and professionals, making it easier to gather competitive intelligence and prospect for new clients. AlphaSense is a powerful tool that uses AI to search and analyze financial documents, news, and research reports, making it particularly useful for in-depth industry analysis.

Like the other tools, if you opt for one of these, spending time early to fine-tune your needs will improve results and usage dramatically. With competitive intelligence tools, generic settings will produce generic results. If you are not willing to invest time, you likely should not invest resources.

Allocating Resources and Time

When deciding where to allocate resources and time, consider the following factors:

• Firm Size: Larger firms may have the budget to invest in multiple paid tools, while smaller firms might need to prioritize free or lower-cost options.
• Type of Practice: Different practice areas require different types of information. For example, a corporate law firm might prioritize industry and competitive intelligence tools, while a family law practice might focus more on client relationship management or in-take tools.
• Frequency of Use: Some tools, like CRM systems, need to be used daily to keep client information current. Fortunately, much of this can be automated, unlike early systems that required a lot of data management. Others, like the industry analysis tools, might be used less frequently but provide valuable insights for pitches, client monitoring, and opportunities to get involved in industry events when there is a need.

Budget Considerations

Free tools such as Google Alerts are excellent for basic monitoring. They allow you to stay up to date on industry news and competitor activities, but you do get what you pay for.

For smaller firms, low-cost tools like Lawmatics, offer affordable plans that help manage client interactions and track communications effectively.

Premium tools like Manzama, Zoominfo, and AlphaSense, provide comprehensive insights that can justify investment for larger firms or firms with specific needs. These advanced tools offer detailed information about companies and professionals, aggregate industry data, and use AI to analyze financial documents, news, and research reports.

Return on Investment (ROI)

Every one of those sales reps that contact you will explain why their tool is a must-have. The truth is investing in the right tools for your firm can lead to a positive ROI.

• Improving Efficiency: Automating information gathering and client management tasks frees up time for other activities.
• Enhancing Client Relationships: Keeping detailed and up-to-date client information helps in providing personalized and timely services.
• Gaining Competitive Advantage: Access to industry and competitor insights can help your decision-making and strategic planning processes.

Hard-Earned Knowledge

There is little question that all these tools offer something that can help your firm be better but that does not mean they all will. You want to start with and understand your firm’s actual workflows, not the ideal scenarios that the sales rep proposes. Change can happen but sometimes those gorgeous dashboards that no one uses because they require changing longstanding habits end up being a waste of time and money.

Budget realistically for implementation, not just subscription costs. The hidden expense is the internal time required to make these tools effective. And be willing to cut your losses if it’s not working.

While choosing the right tools is essential, taking the time to understand the different types of tools available, how to allocate resources and time, and considering budget constraints, will help you make informed decisions. Whether you opt for free tools like Google Alerts or invest in premium options like Manzama and Zoominfo, the key is to select the tools that best meet your firm’s specific needs and goals.

The post Using Technology to Support Client, Industry, and Competitive Knowledge appeared first on Slaw.

The global legal services market needs optimistic contrarians: strong people who think fast and clearly, and whose actions are decisive and fearless. Their power needs to be united, harnessed, and used for good.

The legal services sector has always had a reputation for being tough. It’s getting tougher by the minute and unlikely to let up.

While disruptive factors are many, the three most daunting are:

• Accelerating advances in generative artificial intelligence that are usurping service-oriented tasks and upending how various types of legal work get produced and priced – all of which is impacting traditional law firm pyramid structures
• A tightening world economy teetering on the brink of recession
• International upheaval created and caused by the current United States administration

It may be trite to say that “when the going gets tough, the tough get going” but that is exactly what must happen. And because it must happen right now, being fearless isn’t a trait that’s nice to have; it’s mandatory.

Business of Law

“Business of law” means understanding that you’re running a business, not a private members club. However, business of law recently seems to be misinterpreted as perverse or insulting to legal as a profession. It’s not.

Business of law is not based on personal compensation or greed. It recognizes that prudent selection of targeted services, clients, colleagues and collaborators as well as astute financial and operational structures enables successful commerce.

For example, it means that a senior partner who for many years helping clients run their businesses and to my horror asked, “What does variance mean?” will understand its meaning and context along with other financial terms and purposes and apply them to legal practice and the running of a law firm as a business.

Business of law does not mean perversion of legal practice or anything close to it. This includes a recent notion that alludes to capitulating to outside demands and selling out your firm, clients, and selves, which can happen when a law firm is run as a private and privileged club.

Private club mentality with its tendency for overinflated reputation and inefficient operation can lead to instances of mental, physical, and spiritual health issues and accompanying heartbreak, all of which can result in eventual law firm failures, acquisitions, and mergers.

Selling your soul hurts.

Pyramid Rollover

The Internet changed the world. AI is flattening it. Therefore, it’s fair to expect disintegration of the traditional law firm pyramid structure as a result of the triple-threat of genAI, pricing, and continuing transience of the legal sector’s workforce.

AI-enabled tasks are well-suited to be volume-produced and commodity-priced at a firm’s lowest operating levels. Clients, who are also adopting AI, know how this works and are pressuring external counsel to reflect faster speed and lower cost in transactional pieces of their outsourced legal work.

The upshot of AI replacing junior talent most often tasked with rote work—for which clients often refuse to pay—will result in the lowest tiers being lopped off traditionally-structured firms. Juniors that remain are likely to experience higher than ever stress levels, which is apt to result in increased health care claims and departures.

The knock-on effect is that mid-level lawyers won’t have supports that they’re used to but will still be expected to self-sustain and bring in new business. At the top levels, senior lawyers who can retire will do so, leaving those who don’t or can’t retire holding both the firm’s responsibilities and purse strings in fewer hands.

The end result for many of these firms will either be structural cave-ins due to overweighed equity at the top, a compromised centre, and weak support at the bottom—think reverse pyramid—or rollovers that upend the firm like an iceberg when its weight distribution changes.

The former will be collapse and the latter will be disguised as a merger. A number of mega mergers among big and global firms happened last year. Expect this to continue especially in light of capitulation currently happening within the BigLaw tier of firms in the United States.

Selling Souls

A steadily increasing number of U.S. BigLaw firms are under fire from the American president for having ties to his designated enemies or being in his personal and professional bad books. The list has grown daily since March but kicked off with executive orders against Perkins Coie, Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison, Jenner & Block, and WilmerHale with security clearances being pulled for specific lawyers at Covington & Burling.

Three of those four are suing. However, notable among them is Paul Weiss that dishonourably distinguished itself as the first U.S. BigLaw firm to commit the equivalent of harikari by caving in to the U.S. administration’s threats and demands, and agreeing to a deal in order to save itself from defections of clients, talent, and potential loss of new business.

Paul Weiss was quickly followed by a succession of BigLaw firms, including Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom, Willkie Farr & Gallagher, Milbank, and more that rather than risk potential of an overall decline in profits chose to fall on their swords and cough up big bucks—headed toward $1-billion at last count—in pro bono legal services supporting causes favoured by the president that, according to him, will be used as a kind of slush fund to finance negotiations of tariffs with other countries and support U.S. coal mining. That’s not pro bono, it’s extortion.

Every bit as pathetic are firms in the process of capitulating or that have capitulated proactively. It’s a damn good bet that history will not kindly remember these firms and their selling-out actions, and neither will they be well-regarded in future.

This disgrace is not lost on clients, never mind talent at all levels who you just know will jump ship as soon as possible. Some already have, more are, and others are doing so pre-emptively.

Recruitment is taking a hit as students at top U.S. law schools withdraw applications for summer articling positions and cancellations have happened at on-campus recruiting events. Students say that even though they’re facing crippling debt financing their studies, they’re not looking to sacrifice their moral values.

As for clients, lists are circulating of 500 U.S.-based law firms—none of whom are among the country’s 25 largest—that have pledged to stand fast against authoritarian actions of the American administration. This list may aid corporate counsel and others wishing to spring-clean their external law firm rosters.

Reputation Damage

Law firms that have acted against the current U.S. president—or who he thinks have acted against him—are being punished by cuts to security clearance, reduced access to federal buildings, and the threat of loss of their and their clients’ federal contracts.

Capitulating firms have caused damage to themselves as well as to those who work for and with them. That’s because this witch hunt is apt to extend to entities and individuals with whom these firms do business even if relationships are at arm’s length or in cross-border jurisdictions.

Capitulation is the result of fear and cowardice around possible ramifications that may or may not happen. It is why administrative actions are happening at a dizzying speed in order to keep a trumped-up class of “evil doers” on their back foot. This is also why it is telling that while 500 U.S. law firms joined an amicus brief backing Perkins Coie, only eight of the 100 largest U.S. firms signed on while the country’s major players did not.

Muzzling the media and creating insecurities around free speech, undercutting universities and other educational forums, and hobbling the judiciary and challenging the legal system to the point of compromise—some of whom surrender before or at the opening shot—are symptoms of how empires die.

Why anyone—American or otherwise—is shocked at this blatant display of authoritarianism is a mystery. People will tell you who they are. Believe them. The current American president has been in the role before and, for decades, has told the world who he is. Yet more than half of Americans actively voted him back into office or inactively sat back and watched it happen.

Former U.S. president, Barack Obama, criticized actions being taken against American law firms and universities. He encouraged taking a stand, saying: “We’re at one of those moments where it’s not enough to say you’re for something. You may actually have to do something and possibly sacrifice a little bit. So, if you’re a law firm being threatened, you might have to say, ‘Okay, we will lose some business because we’re going to stand for a principle.’“

And therein lies the crux of the problem. Core principles for many law firms are two-fold: finance and fragility. Many firms operate according to pocketbook principles where they are effectively enslaved by their own success as well as trapped by financial aspirations of higher year-over-year revenue targets and expectations of profit per partner (PPP) payouts. Combine this with the very real factor of law firm fragility that belies powerhouse facades and swaggering behaviour. Barnacle-like adherence to pocketbook principles is often a major factor of law firm failure.

We are seeing the ugliness of pocketbook principles play out before our very eyes every day right now and it is a horrendous spectacle for everyone concerned.

Getting Gutted

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives are also being impacted in North American markets, legal and otherwise. While dismantling of DEI programs began in the U.S., this tactic is creeping into Canada, Europe and globally.

Twenty U.S. law firms being questioned by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission are planning to refuse to hand over information pertaining to their client’s diversity initiatives due to concerns over confidentiality. That they’re even being asked is a Big Brother tactic straight out of George Orwell’s dystopian novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four where “Big Brother is watching you” is a stark reminder of oppressive surveillance and control exerted by the government. In the novel, the state is fictional. In our world, it’s real.

DEI is a critical component of positioning in the modern global legal services market. This is because, historically, traditional law firm talent and, oftentimes, leadership has tended to favour those who are male, pale, stale, and straight. DEI programs and processes are designed to enable remedies for change by removing measurements and influences of the past along with personal and professional bias.

By choosing DEI action or inaction, law firms signal and adopt both a market position and corporate reputation for which they are judged by clients and talent, current and prospective.

There are firms in Canada and elsewhere that are stalwart in their support of DEI as a foundational pillar of strong business. In contrast, half-action, throttling back or program pausing isn’t the choice of champions regardless of market pressures, and whether any of those pressures are real or perceived, or convenient and invented.

Powerful Quitting

Never suffer in silence. That was advice given to me many years ago by the founder of a company with whom I worked for a very short time in a role where I hated every single second and yet was determined to power through. Her advice resulted in my immediate resignation and departure. Both of us were happier because we gained freedom: me to pursue other interests and she to find my replacement.

“Hire slow; fire fast” is a management adage that also works. I know this from managing both small and large teams in legal and corporate settings. I also fired myself thrice before the age of 40 from roles where the fit turned out to be uncomfortable to the point of just plain wrong, and personal and professional principles became unaligned to the point of painful. Each time, I sensed trouble in the first half-day, was gone in three, and every departure was a gift I gave myself.

The key to leaving well is to depart with grace and, most importantly, walk out with your head up. Life is too short to feel trapped and be unhappy. Quitting for right reasons is liberating. No one will die and you will be fine. In fact, you’ll be better than fine. I was, still am, and have never been happier.

Optimistic Contrarians

Confidence is the belief in your capabilities and how you convert them into actions. It is also about your capacity to overcome challenges. Confidence is the core of fearlessness. Fearlessness is mandatory and will be for the foreseeable future as life in legal becomes tougher to navigate, never mind survive and, hopefully, thrive.

The hijacking of the U.S. legal services market and its global repercussions means that legions of legal and professional talent at all levels worldwide as well as a myriad of clients must remain clear-eyed and thinking long-term. Closing your eyes and ears to this craziness will not make it go away. Most importantly, actions must happen swiftly and decisively before continuation of asinine authoritarian, frenetically oscillating and schizophrenic behaviour becomes a new normal.

The world needs optimistic contrarians: strong people who think fast and clearly, and whose actions are decisive and fearless. Each of us is much more influential than we think and one hundred times more powerful than we believe ourselves to be. That power needs to be united, harnessed and used for good.

We also need to retain our senses of humour and the ridiculous. Forty years ago, my mother overheard two men—one a sober whippersnapper, the other an inebriated knight of the road—in heated conversation outside a Toronto grocery store. The sober whippersnapper said, “If you didn’t drink, you wouldn’t be in the state you’re in.” The inebriated knight snapped back, “Whadaya mean ‘what state I’m in’; I’m in Canada.”

Humour in dark situations can be lifesaving and bridge-building. Even so, I’ve been described as fearless for as long as I can remember. That’s because for me being fearful is both a waste of time and depletion of energy. The power of fearlessness is best put to use working alongside others to find and execute improvement solutions for those I love, like, live and work with, and may never even know.

Professionally, I don’t have a dog in this fight. Personally, as a proud Canadian wrapped in the flag, I have a country. Like all those threatened by bullying behaviour—within the legal sector and in general—I am, and we are, fearless.

We will remain so. Bring it.

The post Fearless: A Required State of Being appeared first on Slaw.

Recently I was asked to speak to a group of individuals about how to get involved in business development in the legal space. It is not a career that necessarily has a straight path like other professions and many of the best doing it, fell into the profession and then fell in love with the profession.

What Is Legal Business Development?

At its core, business development in law firms bridges the gap between legal expertise and client needs. It can include identifying opportunities, understanding relationships, and creating value propositions that resonate with clients. Unlike traditional sales, legal business development requires an approach that positions people and expertise rather than products and vendors.

How Do Business Development Professionals Support Lawyers

Most business development professionals focus on their time on the following:

• Strategic Planning: Working with practice groups to identify target industries, clients, and growth opportunities
• Client Intelligence: Researching potential clients’ business challenges and their decision-makers to help lawyers approach conversations confidently and with intent
• Proposal Development: Crafting proposals that articulate value and differentiation in an easily digestible way that meets the needs of the client
• Relationship Management: Implementing CRM systems and processes that track interactions and identify cross-selling opportunities
• Coaching: Helping lawyers develop their personal business development skills, such as networking, branding, and pitch preparation

When lawyers use their business development professionals correctly, we can play a pivotal role as strategic partners, not just administrative support. We translate lawyers’ technical expertise into easily understood compelling solutions that clients and potential clients are looking for.

Getting Started in Legal Business Development

There are many ways to get started in this profession and some specific tools that will help make you successful:

• Strong project management, communication, and relationship-building abilities are essential. This career is about people so taking the time to understand how people work, what makes them excited is key to getting the most out of them
• Marketing or business development experience in other professional services provides valuable transferable skills to the legal profession – accounting, engineering, and financial services to name a few
• Legal industry knowledge is helpful but not always required. Being a lawyer is helpful but not required
• Understanding financial metrics and business operations sets top performers apart
• Be active! The key here is that you need to show you are willing to put yourself out there, whether that be in writing, boards, presentations, networking, etc., it will make a difference when asking a lawyer to do the same
• Schedule dedicated time for activities. Consistency matters more than grand gestures

Areas That Drive Success

If we blow out our ideas a little more, we can look at client experience, collaboration, analytics, and research. Starting with client experiences, it is a way to generate referrals and repeat business, creating a growth cycle. You do this by:

• Understanding the client’s business beyond their legal needs
• Anticipating issues before they arise
• Providing transparent communication about budgets and timelines
• Gathering and acting on client feedback
• Delivering value beyond billable services

Looking within the firm, lawyers are not always great at identifying cross collaboration opportunities. Whereas business development professionals often find the most valuable opportunities existing where practices intersect.

• Creating internal processes that encourage practice groups to collaborate
• Developing client teams that across specialties
• Implementing compensation structures that reward cross-selling
• Building a firm culture where collaboration is celebrated

Modern legal business developers leverage analytics too. This data-driven approach includes:

• Track return on investment on initiatives – we do not need to keep doing things because of the past
• Identify patterns in client acquisition and retention
• Forecast future needs based on industry trends
• Allocate resources to highest-potential opportunities

Being on-line and accessible is a must as today’s clients research firms extensively before engagement. You can highlight your digital presence and thought leadership programs in several ways, including

• A strategic content plan addressing clients’ business challenges
• Personal and firm-level social media presence
• Speaking opportunities at industry events
• Client alerts that demonstrate proactive thinking

Balancing Corporate and Commercial Perspectives

Corporate law and commercial practice areas often approach business development differently. Corporate firms tend to focus on relationship depth with key decision-makers; position the firm as a strategic business advisor, not just a legal service provider; and create client teams that mirror client organizational structures

Whereas firms that focus on commercial matters emphasize industry-specific expertise and practical solutions; build relationships with business units and operational leaders; and demonstrate ROI for legal services through metrics and case studies.

The most successful firms integrate business development into their culture rather than treating it as a separate function. Successful business development in law firms ultimately comes down to building trust and creating relationships.

The post Business Development in Law Firms: An Insider’s Guide appeared first on Slaw.

Fearmongering and fretting about impacts of the Big Four on the legal services sector are the equivalent of tilting at windmills and just as pointless.

I’m tired of overheated headlines and breathless reporting. No, I’m not talking about the trials and tribulations of tariffs and trade. I’m talking about the handwringing and blathering around KPMG’s successful application to practice law in Arizona.

For the love of all that’s holy, handwringers and blatherskites – knock it off.

Scaremongering and Stress

Many lawyers are triggered by fear. Anyone who deals with lawyers in any way, shape, or form knows that the best way to get a lawyer’s attention is to scare them.

The damage inherent with scaring people is that many take threats personally as well as professionally. Lawyers are famous for overworking their worry muscles, which is why scare tactics ranging from screaming headlines to curt communications and bully behaviours cut more deeply than perpetrators might think.

Lawyers and those who work alongside them often need to be constantly vigilant and prepared to deflect the slings and arrows that seem to be endemic to the legal industry. Doing so is a lot of work. And that’s on top of the lots of work we’re already doing.

We weathered the pandemic years with varying degrees of success. Since then and continuing now, regulatory changes are resulting in practices pivoting to survive. In addition, the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) is either a threat or saviour depending on your practice, business, and point of view.

There has been and continues to be enough stress without manufacturing more.

Here’s one less stress: Fearmongering about the Big Four is unfounded. Fretting about impacts of the Big Four on the legal sector is a waste of time for the majority of service providers who won’t be affected. In all respects, mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually—and financially—stressing over Big Four legal is the equivalent of tilting at windmills and just as pointless.

Inside Donahue

I speak from experience having spent three years as sole markets advisor to Donahue LLP that operated within EY from 1997 to 2003 as Canada’s first, and so far, only Big Four multidisciplinary (MDP) business legal practice with a U.S alliance. (This role was concurrent with my national markets advisory role at EY.)

Landing into Donahue in 1998 was like parachuting onto the Titanic with the iceberg in sight and the same fate awaiting. Even so, it was a privileged and unique experience ranging from rough and tumble at times to more fun than you can possibly imagine.

(Little did I know then that my Donahue experience would become the genesis of my legal consulting and advisory practice that to this day often carry the same hallmarks: challenging to the point of sometimes rough and tumble and always more fun than you can possibly imagine – qualities I love and wouldn’t have any other way.)

At its height, Donahue was a business law firm with 130 lawyers located in Toronto, Montréal and Calgary with many considered big-name talent. It offered a wide range of legal services that included corporate/commercial, financial services, mergers and acquisitions, employment and labour, wills and estates, health and workplace safety, energy, real estate, environmental, intellectual property, and business immigration.

Marque legal talent, colourful characters, and daring-do abounded within this entrepreneurial venture that defied standards of law firm convention. Its market position within the profession services field and world of business was “one stop shop,” which the lawyers didn’t particularly like, but the market and EY loved. Regulators were four-square against it and Donahue itself.

Donahue’s Demise

While fending off regulatory naysayers was an almost daily occurrence, continual change of the Canadian firm’s moniker was literally the name of the game as it morphed from Donahue & Partners to Donahue Ernst & Young LLP and finally, Donahue LLP all in the span of six years.

In addition to numerous challenges, its attempt to be “full service” – a throwaway phrase that means nothing to no one – resulted in Donahue’s reach exceeded its grasp and its broad range of offerings would become one of its points of failure.

By 2000, cracks were widening into canyons, and departures of individuals and teams were commonplace. For example, the wills and estates team migrated to McMillan LLP while the intellectual property group refugeed to Torys LLP. The rest splintered off to various Canadian firms. The business immigration team remained and operated as Egan LLP. Couzin Taylor LLP, which was not officially part of Donahue but was affiliated with EY handling tax law also stayed put.

Donahue wound up Canadian operations in 2003. Still, its creation bolstered by EY along with brand traits of sheer audacity and top talent, plus alignment as well as non-alignment to EY’s core business provided a learning experience for today’s Big Four each of whom offer legal services in their own way and manner, including U.S.-based Donahue & Partners LLP that operates as an independent law firm allied with EY Tax.

So, it stands to reason given this history and all that has transpired within the Big Four legal services realm in the last almost 30 years that KPMG is simply the most recent Big Four member to enter the U.S. market via licensing in Arizona.

Crisis? What Crisis?

Due to their depth and breadth, it’s likely that only global law firms might be affected to any degree by Big Four legal and even then, it would manifest well into the future. Furthermore, regardless of the contenders competing again the Big Four would pretty much be game over before it started.

That’s because each of the Big Four has four major advantages: 1) Size, scale, and global reach; 2) Every technology and tool in the shed, and the know-how to use them; 3) Deep corporate infrastructure, endless money, and financial acumen; and 4) Long-standing relationships with legacy client CFOs who often call the biggest shots and to whom GCs often report.

At this point, law firms determined to consider themselves Big Four competitors are best advised to: 1) Approach target markets with ONLY their most distinctive, strongest, and consistently profitable legal services that feature multidisciplinary A-teams, and brand themselves accordingly; 2) Embrace and invest in cutting edge technologies and train up talent fast; 3) Build and consistently invest in business reinforcing infrastructure and professional management; and 4) Cross-service and nurture all legal and non-legal relationships within every corporate client enterprise they want to keep and value most.

Yes, that’s a tall order. It’s also wise counsel regardless of your market and competition.

Taking Care of Business

On January 28, 2025, the Arizona Supreme Court pumped the brakes on licensing KPMG’s application to practice law in that state. At the time, the Court sought answers to questions. Mercifully, the cooling-off period caused frothy reporting and mouth-foaming to cease on the subject. Even with approval granted a month later, there’s precious little to froth or foam about.

KPMG is now licensed to operate as an alternative business structure (ABS) in Arizona. Even so, it’s likely that KPMG Law will start in the U.S. market as—and perhaps remain—primarily a tax law firm with the possibility of a few ancillary practices that align with KPMG’s core business, and initially service KPMG clients. It would also provide legal managed services, which entails handling rote but predictable grunt work.

Routine work is still foundational to many law firms that due to high rates usually need to drop this work to the firm’s lowest production level or provide deep discounts, which results in rote work being a loss-leader. Ironically, these are often the same firms that – wanting all things all ways and always; the equivalent of having their bread buttered on both sides – also desire the most complex work.

And therein lies both vulnerability as well as opportunity.

Perhaps a time will come when everything-to-everybody law firms will either be smart enough or market-forced to make hard choices and stake out a distinctive one of one market position, determine bright-lined business objectives, measurable strategies, and accountable tactics in order to work collaboratively and conduct commerce like other businesses that operate in the real world.

Keep Calm and Carry On

Speaking of the real world, ventures by KPMG into major corporate transactional work and bet-the-company litigation will be future-state at best, if at all.

This is because KPMG knows who it is. Add to that, the Big Four’s adoption long ago of multidisciplinary practice that enables non-territorial and reciprocal working relationships alongside a variety of law firms of different sizes and strengths in various jurisdictions.

Within the Big Four as a set as well as the broader professional services realm, KPMG knows which side of its bread is buttered. Its market proposition is clear; KPMG’s recently retired global head of legal services outlined it. Given my lived Big Four legal expertise and experience, I understand this position and believe him. You should, too.

Still, I must tip my hat to KPMG in recognition of taking this step and will continue to observe quietly and comment calmly on the Big Four’s progress of offering legal as a service line.

In the meantime, a little distance might help put things into perspective. A UK-based colleague charmingly described the Big Four’s forays into legal work in his neck of the woods as “a bit of a damp squib, not all that disruptive to law firms” and referring to KPMG-Arizona commented that “maybe this time it’ll be different?”

I doubt it. If this time it’s either disruptive or different, I’ll eat my bonnet – unbuttered.

The post Big Four Fear Is Unfounded appeared first on Slaw.

The traditional business development approaches for lawyers – expensive dinners, conferences, and rigid networking events – are not the only ways to build your book. In today’s rapidly evolving legal landscape, we have an opportunity to reimagine business development into something you will want to do rather than feel obliged to do.

The Authenticity Revolution in Business Development

The most significant shift in legal business development is moving away from “should-do” activities to “want-to-do” initiatives. This is not about following a prescribed set of actions. It is about creating a sustainable practice growth strategy that energizes you.

The most successful business development strategies align with your natural strengths and preferences. Whether you are an introvert who excels at written communication or an extrovert who thrives in networking environments, there’s a business development approach that will work for you.

Digital Thought Leadership 2.0

Instead of just writing traditional articles, consider the following:

• Creating micro-content series that break down complex legal concepts into digestible insights
• Develop interactive legal decision trees that potential clients can use
• Start a “Demystifying the Law” series specific to your practice area
• Build collaborative content with clients that showcases real-world applications
• Create client alerts on emerging legal issues

These ideas offer a high innovation factor and have the potential to significantly enhance your digital engagement. Ask your marketing department to help define the audience, deliver content, provide professional editing, and develop a strategy to make your content heard.

The New Networking

Forget forced small talk at formal events. In 2025 try:

• Create intimate industry-specific think tanks
• Establish a peer-to-peer learning circle
• Host virtual “office hours” for emerging businesses in your sector
• Develop mentor-match programs within your client industries

This approach will enhance your connection with people more than traditional networking will. Again, you are not alone here. Use your event planners, professional associations, and continuing legal education providers to bring groups together.

Client Experience Innovation

Move beyond traditional client service to:

• Create client success predictability models
• Develop proactive legal health check systems
• Establish industry-specific legal risk assessment tools
• Build client collaboration platforms

This is where you can adjust how you work with clients – think transformational rather than transactional. This can be scary and require a more significant time investment, but if done right, it will transform your firm’s position in the market.

Knowledge Democratization

Instead of hoarding expertise, share by:

• Creating open-source legal tools for common challenges
• Develop practical frameworks clients can implement independently
• Build self-assessment tools for potential clients
• Sharing process maps and decision trees

Your ability to demonstrate confidence and generosity will lead to deep trust. There is no need to worry about losing a client; you are still the expert, and people will continue to need your services. We are long past the days when hoarding information made someone powerful.

Instead of tracking traditional metrics, focus on:

• Influence Indicators
• Content engagement
• Tool adoption metrics
• Knowledge transfer success

Looking Forward

The future of legal business development is not about doing more, it is about doing different. It’s about creating systems and approaches that generate value. The key is to start with activities that feel authentic to you and gradually expand your comfort zone. Choose activities that align with your strengths, set clear goals, and leverage available support.

The goal is to be a more effective version of yourself rather than to be someone you are not. The most successful lawyers focus on authentic engagement, value creation, and impact. Start with one element that resonates with you, build momentum through consistent action, and let your success create opportunities.

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Strategic and profitable growth has nothing to do with size. Instead, it has everything to do with market positioning.

[This is Part Two of a two-part series on Strategic Growth in the Legal Services Market and the foundation for the second half of my September 2024 keynote address to the Alberta Civil Trial Lawyers Association in Calgary.]

I noted in my final thoughts of Part One that evolution in the global legal services market has been upon us for well over three decades. Also, that shifts within the staid and traditional legal services industry have been accelerating more fiercely over the last 10 years in particular and with jet-like propulsion of late.

I identified four legal market juggernauts: 1) Post-pandemic business recovery – or not; 2) Culture shock affecting associate churn, partner transfers, and succession; 3) AI’s influence for better and/or worse; 4) The billable hour on trial for its life, and that all will continue to impact the business and practice of law for years to come.

Despite these daunting hurdles and other concerns, growth can be realized by expansion or contraction. Either strategy—when well-considered and tightly customized—enables exponential and profitable growth provided business and not practice is the primary consideration.

So, questions that must now be asked, examined, and answered are: What will growth in the legal services industry mean and look like in the very near future and years to come? And will exponential growth be triggered by the intuitive reaction of expansion or the counterintuitive strategy of contraction?

Expansion: More is more

Expansion is intuitive. That’s because breadth is often gained by adding complementary services, practices, or talent. Breadth enables:

• Greater number of practice offerings
• Practice and practitioner variety
• Cross-servicing potential

For example, in Canada, several Personal Injury firms based primarily in British Columbia and Ontario have expanded beyond traditional personal injury services to provide medical malpractice, sexual assault litigation, etc. to broaden their business models and offerings. Knock-on benefits can include attraction of new types of talent. This, in turn, can lead to injections of capital to buy into a partnership that, like a ship carrying ballast for stability, enables the distribution of risk onto more individuals who also – to extend the shipping metaphor to piratical – share in divvying up the doubloons.

While expansion is intuitive, it can also appear, at least on the surface, to be natural and seductively easy. However, expansion can lead to ruin if not carefully managed with constant checks and balances of all kinds, including financial. I mention financial because it’s shocking how often money is not a primary consideration but often an afterthought that comes back to bite and bite hard.

Expansion can work if is crafted strategically with brightline boundaries along with transparency of procedures and processes that are executed and operated by strong, savvy and efficient professional management.

Strong governance, savvy management, and across-the-board buy-in are critical components to success of any expansion process. This is because without specific legal market growth goals, defined strategies, astute tactics, and merciless measurement along with testing against the consistent “why?” plus quick and nimble course correction, expansion can lead to morphing into an out-of-control situation that tips a firm into failure. In the Canadian legal market, look no further than the mismanagement crash-and-burn horror show that decimated Heenan Blaikie in 2014.

Mergers and Acquisitions A-Go-Go

Mergers and acquisitions have always been a go-to strategy for law firm expansion.

In Canada, this year’s most notable transaction was IPH Limited’s acquisition of Bereskin & Parr, which was added to Smart & Biggar in September. Along with Ridout & Maybee and ROBIC, the B&P acquisition marked Australia-based IPH‘s fourth acquisition in Canada in two years.

In U.S. markets, this year has been a “bigger is better” bonanza. Among headline-grabbers: Allen & Overy merged with Shearman & Sterling in May, Lathrop GPM acquired Hopkins Carley in October, and Womble Bond Dickinson and Lewis Roca, Troutman Pepper and Locke Lord, and Ballard Spahr and Lane Powell are set to formally combine in January.

“More is more” isn’t a panacea. Often, it’s an attempt to extend a lifeline.

Law firms of all sizes are going through mergers and acquisitions because combining enables breadth. However, there is always a price to be paid in terms of client conflicts, operating differences, and cultural traits that can result in internal wariness often to the point of downright hostility. These damaging issues and more culminate in ongoing revenue leakage due to client and lawyer departures at worst and, at best – if it can be called that – referring work to firms across the street rather than colleagues down the hall.

Those who have hands-on experience with law firm mergers or acquisitions know the myriad problems that come from combinations. Among them are operational issues, such as location decisions, practice technology tools, and most importantly, alignment of financial systems. For example, many years ago, I was involved in a merger where the combined firm was grappling with each of the four merged firms’ accounting systems none of which spoke to each other.

Pay and People

There are always issues around pay and people with pay often eclipsing people in importance.

Because compensation is consistently front-and-centre, culture is pushed backstage pre-merger. A dead giveaway? Dismissive comments, such as “they’re just like us” when often the combining firms are as alike as a turnip and a zebra. Not even the same species.

Post-merger is where cultural issues surface. This is where the fairytale ends, and fallout begins. This is often a good thing. Talent and clients migrate elsewhere by choice or conflict. This happens quickly. The combined firm rebalances more slowly, often taking years and resolving only when long-term talent shifts through a succession process or are otherwise sloughed off.

Because oftentimes size seems to matter, there is an old chestnut to be cracked that pertains to growth by lawyer headcount. In the 1990s, law firms touted market strength by their number of lawyers. Now, growth by laterals is driven by compensation with talent swapping firms on an almost daily basis as if they’re changing their shirts. In 2012, Norton Rose had 2,900 lawyers before its 2013 merger with Fulbright & Jaworski – I know due to involvement – after which it boasted 3,800 lawyers. However, as of June 2024, “NRF today has more than 3,000 lawyers.” Do the math.

Better to scale revenue rather than headcount by instituting processes and procedures within high performing legal service offerings that deliver quality output consistently without ballooning overhead.

Nuts and Bolts

Anyone who has taken a law firm through a merger or a series of mergers as I have, knows that once you’ve done one, subsequent additions are rote. You get out your merger recipe and add more nuts.

Many combinations are simply bolt-ons rather than mergers or acquisitions. They are the addition of either practices not previously offered by the “new mother” firm or adding more people to that firm’s standard practices in the belief that more services or people will result in more money.

The trouble with bolt-ons is that the additional lawyers can turn tail and bolt off to act as standalones, join a boutique firm, or another competing firm. Duplication of management and staff roles usually leads to dismissals. This not only directly impacts the individuals involved, but they take institutional knowledge with them when they leave, and their departure results in a battering toll on the combined firm’s culture.

The upshot is that a drive for expansion—merger, acquisition, or bolt-on—can dilute a firm’s focus and impact, and leave it positioned in the legal market as one of many.

Contraction: Less is More

Contraction is counterintuitive. This is when business depth is gained by narrowing to a niche or vertical practice. Vertical growth enables:

• One of one legal market positioning
• A beacon for specific skill mastery
• Targeting, attracting and retaining specific talent and clients
• Competition and cost irrelevance
• Concentrated budgeting and targeted spend

While “more is more” mergers and acquisitions enable breadth, “less is more” boutique-size and -style firms provide depth.

Vertical Practices

Boutique firms with a “less is more” strategy that position as tightly niched vertical practices enable depth that acts as a beacon for clients wanting specific industry and practice expertise, deep experience, sterling concierge service, and stable cultural definition.

Vertical practice boutique firms also enable legal talent to hone and apply their unique skills in an environment where their qualifications are more highly valued, contributions are more meaningful, and individual personalities shine more brightly.

A Rich Niche

Vertical or niche practice is not for the faint of heart. However, a niche oriented boutique carefully managed for depth rather than breadth will enjoy benefits of exclusivity that eludes the more general practice firms that call themselves “full service” – whatever that means.

Niche practice requires dedication and discipline, and most importantly – grit – to accept only those clients, work, and talent that sit squarely in the centre of your business and practice wheelhouse. Declining what doesn’t fit within your wheelhouse enables market exclusivity along with an easy ability to cultivate reciprocal networks that provide continuous and non-competitive referral streams.

Value and Worth

Expansion and contraction both have merit. However, strategic growth boils down to value and worth that are predicated on your client’s needs, not yours.

That is because value is a measurement of worth. Worth is determined by how much more value a client receives from you than you receive from them in payment. Additionally, value is determined by how what you provide to a client benefits them now and over the years to come.

Payment is only a small factor of an ongoing value exchange. That’s because deep, trusting, and valued relationships have far greater worth than money can buy. This is why the most valuable relationships are priceless.

Legal Market Strategy

My definition of legal market strategy is the creation of new value to drive growth. It pertains to markets, services, products, solutions, direction, etc. New value drives economic growth, market distinctiveness, and cultural differentiation. Market strategy is outward focused and directed at only those clients and talent you wish to attract and retain. It is not an internal navel-gazing exercise nor a smoke-and-mirrors public relations stunt.

Smart legal market strategy is single priority driven, resulting in one of one market positioning that either curtails or eliminates competition.

This is why legal market strategy is hardcore business that compounds the effort expended to start it, stick with it, and stay the course. It is also why nailing legal market strategy successfully is tough stuff undertaken only by the ferociously brave and ruthlessly committed.

Famous Last Words

I began Part One of Strategic Growth in the Legal Services Market: What’s Next? How Do We Cope? with this somewhat famous quote: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” – Ferris Bueller, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

The global legal services environment is facing unrelenting pressure to adopt, adapt, and embrace many aspects of change and reinvent itself at the speed of summer lightening. Strategic and profitable growth through either expansion or contraction is only one of those choices, but it is the most crucial decision to securing your future success and solvency in the legal services market.

My advice, as always, is to be fearless, stay out of the weeds, and keep your head up.

Life really does move pretty fast. You don’t want to miss it.

The post Strategic Growth in the Legal Services Market – Expansion or Contraction? appeared first on Slaw.

In the super-competitive professional services landscape, the ability to deliver an exceptional client experience continues to be a critical differentiator. While firms have traditionally focused on technical expertise and functional capabilities, clients now demand a more holistic, client-centric approach. Clients are hiring you for your legal knowledge and experience, but they also want to know, “What’s in it for me?”

For professionals, the priority should be a deep understanding of the client’s business, challenges, and objectives. The goal is to deliver tailored solutions that meet the client’s needs.

Client Interviews

Conducting client interviews allows firms to leverage client insights effectively. It is not practical to interview every client, so having a system in place is imperative. Interviews, ideally conducted by a third party but at least someone arm’s length away from servicing the client, enable firms to measure the relationship’s health, manage ongoing engagements, and provide the team with objective feedback.

Firms should approach feedback with an open mind. Feedback can be difficult to hear, but it is important to engage with a wide range of clients – not just the ones you believe are happy. Clients who feel listened to and see a sincere attempt to resolve issues are typically willing to work with you.

Acting on feedback is key. We see the same results with employee satisfaction surveys – if firms act on what employees tell them, they build a culture of trust and transparency where employees feel they are part of the solution. Firms that act on what clients tell them are more likely to maintain their clients and grow their book.

Internal Processes and Technology

Creating a seamless client experience requires optimizing internal processes and leveraging technology. Firms should evaluate their service delivery workflows, identify pain points, and implement solutions that improve efficiency, transparency, and communication. Technology changes rapidly, but that does not mean you need to jump to the latest and greatest tool. Use technology that benefits you and your client while maintaining the human touch needed to maintain strong relationships.

Proactive Approach – Cross Selling without Selling

Excellent client service is not achieved through one-off interactions. It comes from every touch point with your client. Proactively speaking to clients about their needs is critical in growing relationships.

One area where this mindset shift is particularly impactful is cross-selling. Questions like “Did you know this recent case could significantly impact your business?” or “This is what we are seeing in your industry. Does this fit with what you are seeing?” or “We recently changed our billing process. Is it working for you?” can start a meaningful dialogue and uncover new ways to deliver value.

Tracking for Improvement

To improve, firms need to measure. Firms should establish key performance indicators and feedback mechanisms to track client satisfaction and ensure client service remains top of mind. By embracing a culture of continuous improvement, professional services firms can position themselves as the preferred partners of choice for their clients.

Yes, you are the lawyer and with that comes a level of expertise that your client needs, but clients have options. Delivering an exceptional client experience is a powerful differentiator. Firms set themselves apart and achieve sustained success by cultivating a client-centric mindset, leveraging client insights, streamlining processes, and, most importantly, continuously improving.

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In November, I’m presenting to law students about plain language and the importance of good communication. As always when preparing for a presentation, my first consideration is ‘who is my audience’ and ‘how best can I deliver my message to this audience’. In this circumstance, who my audience is and the impact on their communications has become the message.

The majority of these students will be in their mid to late 20s: Millennials on the upper end and Generation Z on the lower end. In the 20 years since I graduated with my fellow Gen Xers, communication channels, styles, preferences and expectations have changed. There are now at least four generations (don’t forget the Boomers) of lawyers to work with and clients to serve.

Why is it important for students to learn about the importance of good communications? For one thing, poor communications is a leading cause of professional liability claims against lawyers. See my previous Slaw post, “The Potential for Reducing Claims with Plain Language”, on the value of clear, plain language communications.

What generational impact do students need to keep in mind when it comes to good communication with their fellow lawyers and their clients? The article, “Enhancing Intergenerational Communication: Bridging the Gap in Global and Dispersed Teams[i]”, summarizes the differences as follows:

• Baby Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964, were influenced by radio, black and white TV, and conversations around the dinner table. They tend to favor auditory interactions, such as in-person meetings or phone calls, where the nuances of voice and a personal connection can convey sincerity and commitment.
• Generation X, those born between 1965 and 1980, were influenced by color TV, magazines, and (to some extent) early video games. They show a preference for visual communication and learning and appreciate clear, concise presentations and documents that allow them to grasp how things work quickly, reflecting their pragmatic approach to problem-solving.
• Millennials, born between 1981 and 1996, grew up in a more digitally connected world, which is reflected in their communication preferences. They often prefer text and instant messaging for their convenience and ability to facilitate quick, collaborative exchanges.
• Generation Z, born 1997 and 2012, having been immersed in digital technology from a young age, tends to favor the fastest communication methods available. This often translates to brief, direct messages or digital platforms that support quick, relevant bursts of thought.

As noted in the article “Addressing Communication Styles Across Different Generations[ii]”, these generational differences mean:

• 89% of Millennials prefer text messages and instant messaging platforms for communications – only 2% prefer traditional telephone calls.
• 68% of Boomers prefer in-person conversations.

Second, a generation’s preferred method of communication, such as texting, may not always be best for a legal practice. I’ve summarized a few concerns raised by the Law Society of Alberta in Law Practice Essential, “6.12: Effective Communication Part II – Managing and Documenting the File[iii]”:

Text messaging may:

• Be more difficult to save to the client file. There must be a system in place to keep a record of the communications for the file, particularly client instructions.
• Not be appropriate for conveying subtle legal information. Text messages are short and may lead to less formal communications with the client than required.
• Lead the client to expect immediate or too frequent responses. This could impact a lawyer’s work-life balance and unnecessarily increase the client’s costs.

Third, a lawyer may need to adapt their communications style based on the audience and move out of their communications comfort zone. In-person or telephone conversations may be best for certain situations and individuals. See for example, the LAWPRO article, “Communicating Like Its 1876: The Continuing Importance of Telephone Skills for Lawyers[iv]”. The article provides useful tips on when best to use the telephone such as:

• When the client prefers phone calls;
• Delivering bad news;
• Scheduling and other non-substantive matters;
• Asking for favours and addressing outstanding accounts; and
• Putting the brakes on as escalating conflict.

It also provides an overview of six bad telephone habits and how to fix them.

Being aware and appreciative of the generational differences and being flexible in your approach could lead to more effective communications and fewer claims. Most importantly, an early conversation with clients and other lawyers about each other’s preferences and expectations may avoid trouble down the road.

__________________

[i] BerkeleyExecEd, “Enhancing Intergenerational Communication: Bridging the Gap in Global and Dispersed Teams” online: http://exective.berkeley.edu/thought-leadership/blog/enhancing-intergenerational-communication.

[ii] Vorecol, “Addressing Communication Styles Across Different Generations”: online: https://vorecol.com/blogs/blog-addressing-communication-styles-across-different-generations-9992#:~:text=Moreover%2C%20research%20by%20Harvard%20Business,video%20rather%20than%20read%20text.

[iii] Law Society of Alberta, “Effective Communication Part II – Managing and Documenting the File” online: https://learningcentre.lawsociety.ab.ca/mod/page/view.php?id=207.

[iv] PracticePRO, Communicating Like Its 1876: The Continuing Importance of Telephone Skills for Lawyers”, online: https://www.practicepro.ca/2020/02/communicating-like-its-1876-the-continuing-importance-of-telephone-skills-for-lawyers/.

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“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” – Ferris Bueller, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

[This is Part One of a two-part series on Strategic Growth in the Legal Services Market and the foundation for the first half of my September 2024 keynote address to the Alberta Civil Trial Lawyers Association in Calgary, Alberta.]

In 2008, a global financial crisis considered the worst since the Great Depression of the 1930s marked the end of the traditional law firm’s 20-year bull run.

Since then, life in the global legal services market has been accelerating with ferocious speed.

Because both life and business change fast, you owe it to yourself to stop and look around once in a while. Otherwise, as Ferris Bueller would say, you could miss it.

What’s Next? How Do We Cope?

Several accelerating evolutionary factors are currently impacting the business and practice of law. The four most daunting:

1. Post-pandemic business recovery – or not – for clients and legal service providers
2. Culture shock affecting associate churn, partner transfers, and succession
3. AI’s influence for better and/or worse
4. The billable hour on trial for its life

Despite these and other concerns, growth can be realized by expansion or contraction. Either strategy—when well-considered and tightly customized—enables exponential growth provided that business, and not practice, is the primary consideration.

Four Evolutionary Juggernauts

While it’s possible to list a slew of factors that are impacting both the business and practice of law right now and which will continue to take a serious toll in years to come, the following four are evolutionary juggernauts.

1. Post-pandemic business recovery – or not

All you have to do is look around. Many businesses—and not just small ones—remain in transformation, are throttling back, or are shutting down.

In Canada, annual interest of five per cent began being applied in January 2024 on outstanding Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) balances. And outstanding balances on those CEBA loans, plus fees and interest will be called in at the end of 2026.

While December 2026 may sound far off in the future, many businesses that have been relying on government financial lifelines since the pandemic crippled their commerce have been struggling ever since to remain afloat.

In the legal field, many corporate law firms enjoyed a financial bonanza during the pandemic while firms in other areas of practice, such as personal injury, folded like lawn chairs. This was, in part, the result of both people and vehicles remaining safely parked at home. The upshot was that smaller size firms with WIP and financially structured for contingency were in danger of outright collapse. Instead, many quietly sold to larger firms able to absorb them.

We will be paying for the pandemic in many ways for many years. Without financial support and commerce resurgence, outcomes for businesses of all descriptions will remain a sink or swim scenario.

Culture shock affecting associate churn, partner transfers, and succession

At the junior level, it has become glaringly clear that the kids aren’t alright. In traditionally structured firms, junior to mid-level associates do yeoman’s work. Billable targets and stress levels continue to be high while grinding out the work that must get done is the stuff of apprenticeship slog.

At the senior level: Remember when a young lawyer would enter a law firm, climb the ladder to partnership, and then retire in celebratory fashion or exit on a board? Not now. Now it’s a blend of culture be damned, and the buck revered. The upshot is that lateral transfers in the partner ranks—particularly in the last 10 years—have become a high contact, big money sport with programs to tell the players along with team jerseys becoming almost a necessity.

That is unless senior associates accept becoming partners in name only. Even with a nice-to-have title, the non-equity partnership tier is exactly what it purports to be – a glass ceiling. Non-equity partnerships retain senior associate talent without enabling individuals to fully partake in the profit pool. The question is why senior associates are not trained, mentored, developed and expected to bring in business—and measured accordingly—and then obligated to buy into the firm to gain admittance to the partnership. After all, in a true partnership structure, you have to give to get.

At this rate, it’s fair to expect lawyers in the non-equity ranks to eventually shun the lesser-than “pretend partner” title and do what the firm should have had the grit and financial fearlessness to do in the first place – invite them to leave. And therein lies a problem that could cripple if not crater a firm: When this cohort leaves, the firm will need to manage deeper risk and greater vulnerability since departures will happen on the pretend partner’s timing and terms leaving equity partners holding a bag that’s attached to fewer purse strings.

Speaking of departures, succession, which has been a tender topic within many law firms since time immemorial, remains even more tender if not outrightly taboo today. Planning for and management of passing the batons of both clients and credits to successors remains grasped in hands that may, literally, be cold and dead before these critical issues are dealt with. Worst yet, by the time it happens it may be too late for everybody since legal talent and clients will have departed—if not the mortal coil—then, perhaps, refugeed elsewhere.

And then there’s the ongoing tug of war between work from home and return to office in which there will be no clear winner. While not being in the office on a regular basis is upending the apprenticeship model, the most fortunate members of the Gen X and Millennial demographics will be recipients of a Canadian wealth transfer currently estimated at $1.6-trillion that is expected to change hands by 2030 with even more wealth inherited after the last of the Boomers have died off. So, while it’s possible that wealth recipients in these demographic tiers may wish to work, they may not need to.

Culture shock is and will continue to be just that – shocking to the point of flexibility or instability. Either way, the working world is changing with the speed of summer lightening and will remain in flux for decades to come.

3. AI’s Influence for better and/or worse

Lawyers are predisposed to avoid risk and trained accordingly. As a result, they flex their worry muscles like the legal equivalents of Charles Atlas, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and The Rock combined. A fret factor that recently surfaced in an annual KPMG study, revealed that 50 per cent of global CEOs report concern over the race to embrace generative AI.

More worrisome in the legal industry is the question about whether AI will replace lawyers. In some instances, the answer is “yes” and in others, “no”. Artificial Intelligence is a technology tool like any other in the collective toolkit, but it won’t replace humans.

Yes, horses and carriages were replaced by automobiles and paper maps have largely been replaced by GPS, but while electronics have made vehicles smarter and, allegedly, safer, any fool who is fully reliant on GPS is apt to find themselves either occasionally lost or almost driving off a cliff. The same can be said for AI in that even though it can provide on-point information and various lenses with which to view it, human traits of interpretation, nuance, and judgement mean we will still need to think.

Even so, concern about how AI should or should not be used within legal services, and confusion and discussion about how AI’s influence on legal practice will evolve—and into what—will rage until we have a solid sense of this becoming more apparent. (If you’re reading this now, you’re apt to be dead by the time that happens.)

In the meantime—and while most of us remain alive—the effects of AI will enable better and deeper brain exercise with less grunt work.

4. The billable hour on trial for its life

The bottom line is called that for a reason. Yet the sticker shock of invoice bottom lines experienced by so many clients is because a slew of lawyers continue—either out of habit or structure—to bill for time rather than brains.

Clients buy outcomes. While outcomes cannot always be guaranteed, oftentimes clients don’t care what it takes—or how long it takes—to find solutions leading to results. However, they’ll sure as hell care if it takes too long and culminates in the bottom line on their invoice looking like the national debt.

Because solutions and outcomes aided by speed and predictability have enormous value, lawyers who provide solution or value-based pricing have an instant inside track to earn client trust and trounce the competition.

Value-based or solution-based pricing is about determining the cost relative to the value that the solution provides to realizing desired outcomes for a client and their business.

Successful solution-based pricing pertains to pricing that is particular to each and every client on each and every matter. This means that clarity around scope is critical, managing scope creep is vital, and delivering small, medium, and large pricing options is a point of expectation each and every time.

Alternatively, pricing a solution as a service turns it into a commodity, which is not a bad strategy either depending on the mechanics and repetitiveness of a service. Although commoditizing a service enables scaling due to volume, commodity pricing can get beaten down very easily. Still, commoditizing repetitive, volume-based services should happen as often as possible because it provides predictability and underscores trust.

Is the transition from hourly rates to solution-based pricing easy? No. Is it do-able? Yes. Doing so makes for better business and less stress for all involved. I can testify to these benefits from experience. I transitioned my practice to solution-based pricing during the pandemic and haven’t looked back. With grit, determination, and the right structure, so can many of you.

Four Horsemen

Evolution in the global legal services market has been upon us for well over three decades. Even with change happening in fits and starts, shifts within the staid and traditional legal services industry have been accelerating more fiercely over the last 10 years in particular and with jet-like propulsion of late.

Much of this speed has been the result of the legal industry finally having a fire lit under it due to these four evolutionary juggernauts that are global in nature and universal in impact. And, as a result, it’s entirely possible that the cumulative outcome may have the same scorched earth effect as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

On that formidable note, key questions needing answers now are: What will growth in the legal services industry mean and look like in the very near future and years to come? And will exponential growth be triggered by the intuitive reaction of expansion or the counterintuitive strategy of contraction?

These tough questions will be examined and answered in Part Two of Strategic Growth in the Legal Services Market: Expansion or Contraction?

Watch this space.

[This is the first in a two-part series on Strategic Growth in the Legal Services Market. Part Two, an examination of the exponential growth strategies of expansion and contraction will appear here January 2025. It will be worth the wait.]

The post Strategic Growth in the Legal Services Market: What’s Next? How Do We Cope? appeared first on Slaw.

In professional services organizations, launching a new practice group can be a game-changer for firms looking to expand their offerings, enter new markets, or capitalize on emerging trends. Whether you are in law, accounting, recruitment, planning, engineering, or any other sector, the process of establishing a successful practice group requires careful planning, strategic execution, and a deep understanding of client needs. Although the idea for a new practice may come quickly, launching that new area requires careful consideration, including the eleven tips below.

1. Research

Before you begin telling everyone about your new practice, it is critical to research what you will be offering. Your goal is to identify gaps in the market and assess demand for the new service. This research forms the foundation of your strategy and will help you tailor your services to meet client needs and differentiate your practice group from competitors.

• Analyze industry trends – where is the market going?
• Identify gaps in the market – are the competitors missing something clients need?
• Assess the competitive landscape – is anyone else doing this already well?
• Complete a market analysis – local, national, international?
• Skill assessment – do you have the people to compete in the market?
• Create a client persona – who is your ideal client?

2. Define Clear Objectives and Develop a Strategy

Develop a strategic plan that outlines your goals, target audience, value proposition, and key performance indicators (KPIs). Are you entering a new market? Offering a specialized service? Expanding your client base? The plan will serve to help align your team’s efforts.

• Who is your target?
• What is your unique value proposition?
• What are you offering?
• Brand voice
• Who will benefit?
• Launch cycle/timeline

3. Assemble the Team, Secure Internal Buy-In and Support

Engaging with internal stakeholders from the outset is critical. Involve partners, associates, and support staff who share your vision. Collaborate with people whose skills complement each other. You will want to include your marketing, finance, and technology teams early. Their support is essential for securing resources, setting realistic expectations, and fostering a collaborative environment. Regular communication and updates will ensure alignment and engagement throughout the process.

• Senior management
• Potential practice group leaders
• Other relevant team members

4. Craft a Compelling Brand Identity, Defining Your Niche

Your new practice will need a strong brand identity to stand out. The positioning should communicate the client benefits and how you differentiate from the competition. Clarity is crucial, whether in intellectual property law, sustainable engineering, or tax planning – make sure people can easily understand your offerings.

• Developing a unique value proposition
• Creating a distinctive brand voice
• Designing marketing materials that reflect your group’s expertise

5. Leverage Cross-Promotion Opportunities

Do not overlook the power of internal synergies! This approach helps build credibility and trust with potential clients and, as a bonus, will help gain internal support.

• Joint marketing efforts
• Integrated service offerings
• Collaborative projects

6. Implement a Robust Marketing Strategy

A comprehensive marketing plan will create awareness and generate leads. Tailor your messaging to resonate with your target audience and highlight the unique value your practice group brings.

• Digital marketing campaigns
• Content creation
• Social media engagement
• Develop data-driven programs
• Traditional advertising methods

7. Focus on Business Development

Business development is the lifeblood of any new practice group. Nurturing new relationships is crucial for securing new business and driving growth, while leveraging existing client relationships within your firm can help get your group started faster.

• Build relationships with potential clients
• Network with industry influencers
• Cultivate referral sources
• Implement a robust CRM system
• Follow up regularly with leads and client
• Cross-practice promotion

8. Organize Strategic Initiatives, Thought Leadership, and Events

Positioning your group as a thought leader will help you gain credibility. Host events, workshops, or seminars that showcase your practice group’s expertise and engage potential clients. Publish articles and participate in industry conferences. Share insights that showcase your expertise. This is not a quick process, so plan accordingly.

• Publishing insightful articles, white papers, and case studies
• Participating in speaking engagements
• Host webinars and workshops
• Attend industry conferences
• Network with industry professionals
• Share knowledge and insights
• Generate qualified leads

9. Set Clear Expectations and Monitor Progress

Transparent expectations will allow you to manage resources effectively and ensure everyone is aligned with short and long-term goals. Define KPIs such as revenue growth, new client counts, and referrals. Track and report progress regularly. By establishing clear performance metrics and reporting mechanisms early, you can easily track progress and quickly address issues that arise.

• Communicating goals, roles, and responsibilities to all team members
• Setting up regular performance reviews
• Adjusting strategies based on feedback and results

10. Leverage External Expertise Strategically

You do not need to do this alone! Engage other people early whose expertise provides valuable insights, enhances your marketing efforts, and accelerates your group’s development. Ensure that external partnerships align with your strategic goals and complement your internal capabilities. Collaborate during strategy development and execution.

• Industry consultants
• Marketing agencies
• Specialized service providers
• Choose partners who are aligned with your values and goals

11. Continuously Evaluate and Adapt

Launching a practice group is not a one-time event but an ongoing process. Evaluate performance against benchmarks and be prepared to make adjustments. This allows you to stay relevant and grow.

Successfully launching a practice requires a multifaceted approach, combining planning, strategic execution, and evaluation. Following these key strategies will set your new practice on the path to success. The launch is just the beginning; ongoing commitment to excellence and adaptability will drive long-term growth and establish your practice group as an asset to your firm and clients alike.

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Quit the AI theatrics and get on with the business of legal service.

I’ve had it. Had it with the legal industry’s incessant blither blather, adjective-laden hyperbole, and histrionic pearl-clutching – hello, law firms – pertaining to the perils and rarely the pluses of artificial intelligence.

The continuous and roiling notions around AI, its impact on the legal market, and how services will need to be offered, provided, and priced strikes me as a crazy collision of Marx Brothers movies, “A Day at the Races” and “A Night at the Opera.” Wacky, zany, and clear over the top.

AI will – and should – drastically affect how law firms the world over conduct business. Still, it’s becoming more difficult to assign much validity, never mind credence, to the yakkety-yak and handwringing over business advancements verses practice threats of this technological tool.

It all makes for a lot of noise. Much of that noise pertains to if and how AI is being adopted, and rings with the deafening chime of “us too.” This tiresome cacophony is an overreaction seeded in a desperate fear-of-missing-out hope that clients, prospects, and perhaps potential lateral talent will feel some degree of assurance that whatever-firm-is-doing-the-chiming is in the know and actively adopting AI.

But is it really? To what end? And whose benefit?

Adoption and Adaptation

When AI – like any other technology – flows directly and transparently through a law firm to its clients, that will be the true test of how well artificial intelligence is being adopted and adapted within the legal services sector.

But let’s not stand on one leg and wait for that to happen.

Why? Because lawyers love to admire a problem. As a problem, AI is ripe for the picking and being picked apart.

Among the problems AI creates is its impact on pricing, which will now and forever affect current and prospective business. And as a result, the billable hour is finally on trial for its life.

Yet, while many law firms and legal service companies are aware of this and are experimenting with AI for a myriad of purposes and to various extents, it is utterly astonishing that there are prolific name-brand law firms continuing to choose to be myopic to the point of willful blindness, and instead electing to dither and kick the can down the road.

Good luck with that.

AI’s impact on how the global legal service industry conducts business and prices services has been signalling its impending arrival like a light in a tunnel for years. Yes, that light is an oncoming train. So, your choice is clear: get on the train or under it.

Value-Based Pricing

According to a recent study, Thomson Reuters 2024 Generative AI in Professional Services: Perceptions, Usage, and Impact on the Future of Work, 58 per cent of legal professionals said they don’t believe GenAI will impact the rates they charge clients. What tommyrot. This 58 per cent of legal professionals had better think again because it’s fair to expect that 100 per cent of their clients will think about whether those rates will be paid in full, in part, or at all.

This is why smart law firms are shifting – even if it’s in stages, and slowly but surely – from hourly rates to various value-based pricing structures that leverage the efficiency of Al and enable transparency that underscores client trust.

After all, value pertains to expertise, experience, and smarts related to strategy, future-state thinking, problem solving and, better yet, proactive issue avoidance.

Value does not pertain to run-of-the-mill tasks, such as drafting and reviewing – never mind the perverse cottage industry of such disbursements as paying for photocopies and phone calls – for which no client should ever pay big (or small) bucks and is often why they rightly push back hard or refuse outright when such items appear on an invoice.

Value and Worth

Value is a measurement of worth. In a service-based industry like legal, worth is determined by how much more value a client receives from you than you receive from them in payment.

And payment is only a small factor of an ongoing value exchange. That’s because a deep, trusting and valued relationship has far greater worth than money can buy. This is why the most valuable relationships are priceless.

Here’s a personal-professional illustration of value and worth:

Rarely am I paid for the time and effort to painstakingly draft, edit, and publish my thought leadership material. However, the combination of expertise, experience, and smarts plus investment necessary to create the depth and range of intellectual property contained within my articles, webinars, and keynote presentations results in an ability to attract and select only those clients with whom I wish to engage – and be fairly and well-compensated via value-based pricing – for mission-critical strategy work.

This high calibre work has two key hallmarks. For me, it sits dead-centre within my four smart strategy pillar wheelhouse. For clients, it enables full access to strategic legal market thinking and future-state problem avoidance. Value is realized because what clients receive is worth more to them and their business than what I am paid. Of even greater worth are mutually deep and trusting relationships that lead to being each other’s first call.

And therein lies the compound advantage of sophisticated work, value-based pricing structures, and relationship worth.

Structural Shifts

In non-traditional law firms, structure is usually minimal or flat, which enables easier adoption and adaptation of AI and value-based pricing.

However, for traditionally structured law firms, the double whammy of a global pandemic recovery and all it continues to entail plus the impact of AI and its effect on pricing is a serious threat to solvency. We are witnessing this now and will continue to do so for some time to come.

A related issue is that, in the chronically short-sighted traditional law firm environment, concerns around AI’s impact on the bottom line far eclipse problems around its effect on if and how young lawyers will learn legal ropes.

The ‘if’ part of this conundrum is very real and more concerning than the ‘how’. In many instances, AI is already grinding through low-level work that used to be the prevue of how new lawyers learned about legal practice, and it’s doing so at a fraction of human cost and time.

The upshot is that this lowest level of traditionally structured law firms will either be tightly compressed or completely lopped off, and the traditional pyramid structure will be significantly diminished.

Why? The hard truth is that even though lip service may be paid to the traditional new lawyer apprenticeship process, next to no law firm will dedicate full attention to this concern until current and future solvency is secured, and answers to the ever-present profits-per-partner (PPP) questions are wrestled down.

Go Big or Get Gone?

This is one of the reasons I believe global and big law firms are seeking market advantage by becoming even bigger. I’m talking about that ridiculous more-is-better chestnut of “lawyer headcount” rather than hardcore business principles around market strategies, distinctiveness, and EBITDA that are hallmarks of commerce and economic growth.

I commented as much on LinkedIn recently in response to this story that, without the AI angle, could have been written 20 or 30 years ago when law firm size was all the rage the first time around. And now, much like often-repeated fashion trends such as bellbottoms, turtlenecks, and gold chains, here we go again.

Obviously, AI’s efficiencies are scaring many law firms to death and perhaps because of it more law firm deaths may happen literally.

Whether AI will directly result in law firm failures remains to be seen. Still, we’re at a reckoning point where it is realistic and reasonable to expect that life in the legal market will be tougher and more demanding than it has ever been – and that’s saying something.

My Recommendation

The Internet changed the world; AI is flattening it.

For the love of all that’s Holy, knock it off with all the annoying Sturm und Drang around AI. Instead, figure out – right now – how best to adopt and adapt AI as part of your structure and culture. Price services and offerings accordingly – in whole, in part, or in stages – and get on with the business of doing business.

Granted, doing so will require an ongoing investment of time and money along with change management, determination, and grit. However, not doing it will have adverse consequences, perhaps not immediately but most certainly in due course.

The choice is yours.

If not doing it is your choice, then feel free to surrender to the operatic hysteria, faffing about, and déjà-vu-all-over-again nonsense. And while you’re at it, flop on a couch and cocooned in a haze of blitheful indifference, enjoy the antics of the Marx Brothers.

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The ability to craft compelling proposals is not merely a skill but an art form. Whether responding to a request for proposal or proactively seeking new business with unsolicited proposals, the process demands finesse, strategy, and a deep understanding of client needs.

Why Proposals Matter

Proposals represent more than mere submissions; they represent an opportunity for your firm to stand out among your peers. Each proposal is a testament to your expertise, understanding of client needs, and a roadmap to solutions. Crafting a proposal is about showcasing capabilities, forging trust and establishing credibility with prospective clients.

Crafting a Winning Proposal

First and foremost, you need to understand the client or prospect deeply. Research and understand their business, industry challenges, and specific needs, then tailor your proposal to address these points directly.

• Highlight Your Unique Value Proposition: Clearly articulate what makes your firm stand out. Whether it’s deep industry expertise, a track record of success, or innovative solutions, emphasize why your firm is the best choice.
• Structure and Clarity: Organize your proposal logically with a clear structure. Use headings, subheadings, and bullet points to make it easy for the reader to navigate and understand.
• Demonstrate ROI: Show the client the benefits of choosing your firm. Include case studies, testimonials, or metrics that illustrate your past successes and the outcomes you can achieve.
• Team Composition: Highlight key team members involved in the project. Demonstrate relevant experience and expertise to instill confidence.
• Design: Lawyers don’t think about design like an architect or planner might. However, visual imagery such as colour, images, graphics, infographics, and iconography are powerful tools for capturing your audience’s attention.
• Quality Control: Ensure your proposal is error-free with impeccable grammar, spelling, and formatting. A polished document reflects attention to detail and professionalism.

How to Be Successful

Success in proposal writing requires collaboration across roles and skills within your firm.

• Business Development and Marketing: Lead the strategy and messaging, ensuring alignment with the firm’s brand and client expectations.
• Lawyers: Provide substantive content, demonstrate legal knowledge, and craft the technical aspects of the proposal.
• Executive: Offer strategic oversight, pricing, and review, ensuring the proposal aligns with the firm’s overall business objectives and client needs.

Time Required

The time investment for a proposal will vary. When responding to an RFP, firms are typically given several weeks to gather information, draft content, and finalize the proposal. Make a schedule and use the time provided efficiently. Follow the guidelines while tailoring your proposal to address the RFP requirements directly. Content deviation from what is asked for may be ignored, or, worst case, you may be disqualified. Leaving it to the last minute will add unnecessary time demands and complications.

An unsolicited proposal may take longer as it typically involves more research, tailored content creation, and strategic positioning to capture interest. The goal is to develop a proposal that addresses their current challenges and presents your firm as a proactive partner with innovative solutions to their future needs. Manage expectations by keeping the client informed about timing and not waiting too long, as other firms may also be approaching them.

Proposals are necessary for legal professionals seeking to grow their client base and differentiate themselves in a competitive market. By taking time to understand the client’s needs, showcasing expertise, and collaborating effectively within your firm, you can create proposals that win business and strengthen client relationships over time. Remember, a well-crafted proposal is not just a document but a powerful tool demonstrating your firm’s commitment to delivering exceptional legal services.

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Why be mediocre? Smart strategy developed thoughtfully and executed astutely ignites success that is stratospheric.

Strategy within many law firms is considered optional. These firms prefer to do what they’ve always done, then sweat and bleed to grind out results.

That’s because they choose to play it safe and run with the rest of the competitive herd. But running with the herd does not protect you from harm, it simply makes you one of many.

Playing it safe is a prevalent trait within the risk-averse legal services industry. But how tiresome and dull, not to mention frustrating. This is precisely why I work only with those law firms and legal service companies that are audacious and who dare to position as one of one in their key markets rather than being one of many.

Being one of many not only results in lack of distinctiveness but also cutthroat competition that often culminates in chiselling down price for service. The bottom line, literally, is a race to the bottom with lean margins that disable investment in the business, which converts to growth stagnation and, eventually, failure.

The human impact of a non-distinctive, volume-based, low-price business is the constant search for new clients that, if you’re still billing by time, leads to clock watching, inaccurate docketing, and write-downs while not having enough hours in a day. The vicious cycle of seeking and securing new clients and work, then doing the work – for peanuts – and delivering outcomes that may or may not be expected by these usually demanding clients is a sure-fire recipe for a life of sheer hell. The stress can kill you.

Stop this insanity and do the following instead:

Start your smart strategy process by determining exactly WHAT you do best. Then, consider HOW what you do is uniquely distinctive from all others. This is the basis for building a legal practice, law firm or legal service company that sets you apart, saves your sanity and, perhaps, your life.

What is Strategy?

Strategy is the creation of new value: markets, services, products, solutions, direction, etc. New value drives economic growth, market distinctiveness, and cultural differentiation.

Strategy is outward focused and targeted to your key market(s), industries, current and prospective clients, and talent acquisition. It is not an internally focused, navel-gazing endeavour nor a public relations exercise.

Smart strategy is single priority driven. Successful strategy results in one of one market positioning that curtails – and even better – often eliminates competition.

Distinctive market positioning doesn’t happen when you’re better than everyone else or even the best. It happens when you can identify, claim, and prove that you are the one and only.

Strategy requires on-going development that must be revisited on a regularly scheduled basis and altered as necessary. This is because strategy is not static. It’s an organic, living, breathing entity.

Strategy done well is not a planning exercise. In fact, the phrase “strategic planning” is an oxymoron because as I’ve said repeatedly, “Strategy is a set of choices that position you to win your key objectives. Planning is a measurable action and/or behaviour set to happen within a specific timeframe. Strategy is one thing while planning is another, yet these words have been paired together as if they’re a logical fit. But they are not.”

Strategy is hardcore business that compounds the effort expended to start it, stick with it, and stay the course. This is why developing, nailing, and nurturing smart strategy is tough stuff undertaken only by the brave and committed.

Articulating and building on a law firm or legal service company’s unique culture – and, yes, you have one – is foundational to developing successful strategy. That’s because culture is the bedrock in which you embed four key pillars of strategy: business, markets, management, and clients.

Built upon and reinforced by culture, these four strategy pillars combine to become a distinctive beacon that attracts and retains talent along with clients who have the calibre of work that the firm or company does best and wants most.

Four Pillars of Smart Strategy

1. Business Strategy

Business strategy is the master plan that determines the expectations and outcomes of what a law firm or legal service company provides.

Business strategy asks questions pertaining to ‘why’. Answers provide foundational reasoning for corporate decisions along with principles and direction, and how they relate directly to and affect outcomes. For example:

• Why certain types of work are and are not accepted
• Why the firm or company operates in select target markets
• Why current and prospective clients and work are tiered, valued, and culled
• Why specific expertise, talent, skills, and temperaments are mandatory
• Why operational management is mandated to oversee and execute on business issues

Business strategy is the root strategy and fundamental to success. It is also rare.

Because business strategy is nonexistent within many law firms and legal service companies, results often manifest in internal struggles that include talent defection and high turnover, financial distress, forced mergers and takeovers, and/or dissolution.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

While a law firm or service provider’s business strategy must be uniquely one of one within its key markets, it needs to be foundational without rigidity. A business plan that supports the strategy needs flexibility to be responsive to economic and market conditions without – and this is the most important factor – being inclusive of all people, things, whims, and agendas.

Both the strategy and its plan require bright-line boundaries, ferocious enforcement, and leaders who lead from the front. This is why law firms that operate as glorified country clubs rather than environments of commerce either shy away from or outright resist business strategy often to their detriment. While these firms can be successful by accident at least for a while, they don’t usually stay that way for long or forever.

2. Market Strategy

Market strategy transforms business growth objectives into action. High level in nature, it requires big picture perspectives balanced with real world thinking.

Market strategy calls for audacious objectives, creative ideas, clear priorities, astute decisions, supportive resources, and time-bound measurement – all of which drive growth.

Most importantly, market strategy requires consistent execution of supportive tactics that, like Queen Elizabeth II said about the monarchy’s viability and visibility, “Must be seen to be believed.” Without prolific and provable action on tactics there is no strategy execution or achievement of objectives.

Market strategy is both an internal and external declaration of who the firm or business is and what it stands for. While market strategy must be true to who the entity is now, this strategy must be flexible to accommodate future change while remaining in alignment with overall objectives and core values.

3. Management Strategy

Management strategy addresses organizational challenges.

Management strategy transforms business growth objectives into actions and drives the execution of both market strategy and its supporting tactics.

Because management strategy pertains to people, systems, and resources, this is the point at which exponential growth within your chosen target markets can be compounded by careful, thoughtful, and diligent guidance.

Without management strategy, achievement of growth objectives pertaining to business strategy, market strategy, and client strategy will struggle and fail.

4. Client Strategy

Client strategy is the gold standard for every successful law firm or legal service company on a growth trajectory. As gold becomes more valuable when refined, so does a client roster that is managed strategically.

Smart client strategy hinges on recognizing the critical hallmarks of clients and work you want most while understanding that not every client or dollar is a good one.

Defining and refining the required qualifications of your most valuable clients and valued relationships is at the heart of client strategy.

There are three key features of client strategy that factor predominantly:

1. Client Retention: Strategic management of clients that provide work you want and do best, and who are referral sources. Management pertains to consistently tiering, keeping, and culling both clients and work.
2. Client Interviews: Two-way conversations – not check-the-box surveys – reveal nuances of clients’ current and future needs along with points of view. In my experience have done many client interviews, these conversations always solidify loyalty, result in new work, and lead to valuable referrals.
3. Client Teams: A multidisciplinary approach that retains high-value clients by deepening relationships and enabling cross-servicing.

Stratospheric Strategy Success

Stratospheric success is ignited when these four pillars of strategy are crisply defined, dovetail to one another, and supportive tactics for each are clearly communicated, ruthlessly executed, and delivered in logical sequence within non-elastic time limits.

Tough? Yes. Doable? Absolutely. Results? Provable.

This is the method I have used to restructure businesses both inside and outside of the legal industry. Why? Because it works every time. Each of these restructured businesses experienced rocket-force liftoff, meteoric propulsion, and enjoy stratospheric success to this day.

By following this smart strategy advice, so will you.

The post Stratospheric Strategy Success: Eclipsing Mediocre to Meteoric appeared first on Slaw.

Auditing your firm’s marketing activities allows you to examine all marketing and communication efforts to evaluate their effectiveness and alignment with the firm’s overall objectives. Below is a short guide on performing an audit, what to look for, and areas to focus on.

1. Define Objectives and Goals

One of the early items in the audit is to ensure that your marketing activities align with the firm’s overall strategic goals. This will help measure the success of marketing activities against defined benchmarks.

• Review the firm’s strategic plan.
• Identify specific marketing goals, such as increasing client acquisition, improving brand awareness, or expanding into new practice areas.
• Use data to understand the objectives (e.g., a 20% increase in website traffic, ten new clients per quarter).

2. Evaluate Current Marketing Strategies

By evaluating your marketing strategies, you are likely to reveal areas needing improvement or adjustment, identify strategies with the best return on investment (ROI), and determine the effectiveness of current marketing tactics.

• Analyze all current marketing channels (e.g., digital marketing, print advertising, networking events).
• Assess the performance of each strategy using key metrics (e.g., conversion rates, engagement levels).
• Compare the outcomes with industry benchmarks and best practices.

3. Assess Marketing Budgets and ROI

Marketing budgets are often reviewed as an area to reduce costs. As part of the audit, you will want to identify any overspending or underspending areas, reallocate resources as needed, and ensure the marketing budget is used efficiently.

• Review the annual marketing budget and expenditures.
• Calculate the ROI and the effectiveness of each spend.

4. Analyze Target Audience and Client Segments

Identifying new potential client segments can help ensure marketing efforts reach the right audience. This will help to enhance the relevance of marketing messages.

• Review client demographics, psychographics, and behaviour patterns.
• Conduct client surveys and interviews to gather insights.
• Use data analytics to identify trends and preferences among different client segments.

5. Review Marketing Materials and Communications

Nothing can limit the reputation of your marketing team more quickly than having outdated or ineffective materials that hinder the firm’s brand image and credibility. Ensuring consistency and professionalism in all marketing communications is critical to any audit.

• Audit all marketing materials, including brochures, business cards, website content, and social media profiles.
• Check for consistency in branding, messaging, and design.
• Update or redesign materials as necessary to reflect current standards and trends.

6. Evaluate Digital Presence and Online Reputation

Your initial goals online are to enhance and protect the firm’s reputation, maximize visibility, and engage potential clients through digital channels.

• Audit the firm’s website for SEO, usability, and content quality.
• Analyze social media profiles and engagement metrics.
• Monitor online reviews and ratings, responding to feedback as appropriate.

7. Assess Participation in Legal Directories and Awards

Directory and award sites can enhance the firm’s credibility and visibility in the legal community. Lawyers want to refer clients to other credible lawyers. Although typically not the way new clients find you, these platforms may help with referrals and provide additional networking opportunities.

• Review the firm’s listings in legal directories (e.g., Lexpert, Chambers, Best Lawyers).
• Assess the benefits of participating in industry awards and recognitions vs the time involved in getting ranked.
• Ensure current information accurately reflects the firm’s expertise and achievements.

8. Examine Competitor Strategies

An in-depth understanding of your competition identifies competitive advantages and areas for improvement, helps benchmark the firm’s performance against peers, and reveals market trends and emerging opportunities. Keeping a close eye on firms that will happily take over your clients would be best.

• Conduct a SWOT analysis of key competitors, including newcomers to the space.
• Analyze competitors’ marketing materials, websites, and social media.
• Identify unique selling points (USPs) and successful tactics used by competitors.

9. Review Internal Processes and Team Performance

None of this is possible without your marketing team. As a leader, you want to ensure the marketing team operates efficiently and effectively and identify skill gaps or training needs.

• Evaluate the roles and responsibilities of the marketing team.
• Assess the effectiveness of internal communication and project management tools.
• Conduct performance reviews and provide feedback and training as needed.

10. Create an Action Plan

All of this great work to complete the audit is excellent. Still, you must create an action plan that provides a roadmap for implementing improvements and achieving goals that align the marketing team’s efforts with the firm’s strategic direction.

• Summarize the findings from the marketing audit.
• Work with your executive partner to develop a detailed action plan with specific, time-bound tasks.
• Assign responsibilities and establish metrics to measure progress.

By conducting a thorough marketing audit, a law firm can optimize its marketing strategies, enhance its competitive position, and ultimately achieve its business objectives more effectively. Regular audits should be integrated into the firm’s annual planning process to ensure continuous improvement and sustained success.

The post Marketing Audit appeared first on Slaw.

Legal service is a business. Run it that way.

Many law firms are successful by accident.

Anyone who knows anything about traditional law firm structures knows they are perilously fragile. It doesn’t take much to bring them down.

Up until this latest debacle—the 2024 collapse of Minden Gross—Canada’s highest-profile law firm failures were Heenan Blaikie in 2014, Goodman and Carr in 2007, and Holden Day Wilson in 1996.

Canadian law firms are not alone in this plight. For example—and this is only a small sampling—lawyer exits and merger failure brought down U.S.-based Stroock & Stroock & Lavan at the end of 2023 after more than 30 of the firm’s 46 partners jumped ship to join Hogan Lovells, and in 2003, Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison and its 500-plus lawyers lost talent and failed to find a merger partner. Global behemoth, Howrey, that at its height had more than 700 attorneys in 17 locations worldwide, met that same fate in 2011.

Failure Flash Points

Like those firms, Canada’s Minden Gross saw a series of lawyers exit the firm and failed to secure a merger.

Heenan Blaikie’s failure was a mismanagement mess that ranged from financial pressures, loss of trust, and misguided geographic reach to an apparent lack of formal management training and an absurd notion that the bottom line looks after itself.

In 2017, I wrote about Heenan Blaikie’s collapse and posited that had it been run as a business rather than a private club, collapse may not have happened. The link to that article is the last in this piece.

As for Goodman and Carr, its lawyer roster shrunk from 140 to 90 in the two years prior to dissolution. Again, depending on who you talk to there were also problems with compensation and disparate practice groups.

Holden Day’s demise was in a class by itself. Shock and grief overwhelmed the firm in 1993 after one of its partners fell 24-storeys to his death due to crashing through a floor-to-ceiling window when throwing himself against it to demonstrate the window’s strength to a group of lawyers who were attending a reception.

Many of that firm’s members were traumatized, including a friend of mine who was in the room when it happened. She was among the nearly 30 lawyers who departed within three years after that ghastly event.

Thankfully, not all law firms crash and burn in such spectacular fashion.

During the pandemic years, a number of small personal injury firms folded like lawn chairs. Their mostly quiet failures were primarily the result of people and vehicles remaining safely parked at home. Many of these small firms were bought by larger personal injury boutiques, absorbed into corporate/commercial practices, or stayed bust.

Lawyers Land Fast

When word of its impending demise spread through Minden Gross, most of its lawyers packed their briefbags and successfully refugeed elsewhere. This was not surprising since it’s par for the course that lawyers land fast.

But what about staff many of whom in Heenan Blaikie, Goodman and Carr, and Minden Gross’s case, had provided decades of service? What happened to them and others who worked at, in, and with firms such as these?

In Goodman and Carr’s case, there was swift action to get staff members hired elsewhere before the firm closed. In most instances, it worked. I know because I was peripherally involved in helping some of those people secure new roles at other law firms.

In Heenan’s situation, staff who saw the writing on the wall and could react fast, raced the lawyers to the exits.

As for Minden Gross, the dust and all its people have yet to settle.

Elysian Days of a Halcyon Past

There are always individuals within almost every law firm who tend to cling like barnacles to the Elysian days of a halcyon past.

Still to this day, there are law firms that operate as a country club with some even having a Partner Lounge complete with a capital “P” and “L” in the name on the doorplate. But how many “country club” law firms will remain attractive to changing demographics and attitudes among both talent and clients when there are other law firms and legal service businesses operating in the market that are vibrant and modern, solvent and nimble, flat-structured and value-based, and built for flexibility and the long haul?

More to the point, how long will it be until business-oriented, whip-smart, self-preserving professionals of any age, expertise, or experience decline outright any invitations to throw in their lot and, perhaps, capital to join one?

The AI Collision

When Richard Susskind’s The End of Lawyers?: Rethinking the nature of legal services was released in 2010, it upset many lawyers’ apple carts.

Why? Because Susskind had the brass to challenge the legal profession to think like a business and determine how to use alternative ways of working to increase speed, lower costs, and maximize efficiency while retaining high quality output.

He argued that a legal services overhaul would be needed due to the increasing intolerance of the market to pay big bucks for rote, task-based work that could be better executed by smart systems and processes. He further suggested that, as a result, the jobs of traditional lawyers would be eroded or eliminated.

So, what happened? Much talk ensued among many. Little action was taken by few.

Ten years later, in 2020, two enormous forces collided: the world and COVID-19. During that time, and accelerating at light speed ever since, the world finds itself grappling with the newest upheaval: Artificial Intelligence.

The Internet changed the world. AI will flatten it.

As the world’s tardiest industry bloomer, the global legal services market may get flattened, too. But if that’s what it takes to realize momentous evolutionary change within a change-resistant sector, bring it on.

Legal Service is a Business

That Minden Gross, Heenan Blaikie, Goodman and Carr, and the rest of their ilk failed and fell has precious little to do with tenure, comradery, or culture.

According to Minden Gross’s website, blame is placed on “recent intensification of the challenges facing mid-sized law firms in Canada” when, in large part, it appears not to have been well prepared to withstand or swiftly adapt to change due to the fragility of traditional structuring.

Candidly, an astute legal market observer could have seen this failure coming. I did. For me, it was obvious years before it happened that Minden Gross would seal its own fate and collapse was simply a matter of time.

Even so, when the crash came, my initial reaction was anger. However, a month later my attitude neutralized to what can only be described as “meh.” And that’s because law firms, like other endeavours, always have, can, and will continue to fail primarily due to an inability or resistance to meet or exceed the galloping rate of change and adaptation with which the expanding world of business and its expectations evolve.

Basic Business Pillars

Despite the gloom, doom, and despair, there are strategies and solutions for those who dare to face the future head-on and take decisive action.

Rather than being successful by accident, proactive and better-adaptable law firms succeed by design and on three basic business pillars:

1) A distinctive one of one market position that sharply cleaves a firm from its competitors to the point where competition is irrelevant.

2) A tightly focused, publicly stated, and strict strategy-to-objective business-based mandate with intentional, scheduled, and executed time-bound tactics, all of which are embraced by every member of the organization, each of whom is all-in and consistently walks the talk.

3) Professionally trained non-lawyer management running all C-suite and critical business areas of the enterprise enabling lawyers to do what they do best: lawyering.

If Minden, Heenan, Goodman, and most other failed law firms had followed this advice trifecta, it’s likely that their demise could have been avoided. That’s because they would have been corporately structured with a so-tight-it-squeaks market position, governed by ironclad directives, bright-line boundaries, and powerful infrastructure, kept shipshape and accountable with publicly shared growth and cull mechanisms, and run like a bottom-line-or-bust business with expert management at the helm.

Accepting Failure as Normal

It is entirely reasonable to expect that more failures will happen since most traditionally oriented legal industry players adapt to change at the same rate of shifting speed as the Earth’s tectonic plates.

Much of the blame for future failures will be assigned to the retirement of Baby Boomers who, in short order, will shift out of active practice – willingly or not – as well as to younger generations of professionals seeking new work styles and different environments. With lots of blame to go around, the rest is likely to be showered upon the ever-increasing and swift advancements in technology and tools – especially AI – that, if the Good Lord’s willing and the crik don’t rise, should eventually decimate the blight of the billable hour.

It’s also fair to expect that if the legal industry keeps reacting to law firm failures in the histrionic fashion that has been favoured in the past, much finger-pointing, hand-wringing, and pearl clutching will continue to ensue.

How tiresome.

Better to shove the fainting couches into storage, enter this century, and run law firms like modern-day entities of commerce.

“Legal service is a business; run it that way” has been my mantra forever. This is my hill and I’ve been dead up here for years. Still, it’s sensible advice and fair warning that if you’re not taking assertive, deliberate, and action-oriented care of your law firm’s business, you’ll soon find yourself out of it.

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In the world of professional cycling, the most revered athletes are those who excel in a variety of disciplines. From mountain climbs to time trials and sprints to the finish line, world tour cyclists must master a diverse set of skills to be champions. Lawyers can draw valuable lessons from these elite athletes, realizing that specialization in various legal disciplines can lead to a well-rounded and successful legal career.

Versatility Matters:

Much like a cyclist aiming for victory in a grand tour, lawyers should strive to be versatile in their practice. Legal professionals will encounter a diverse range of cases requiring a unique set of skills. Knowing when to trust other lawyers on the team allows you to focus on the areas you know best.

Climbing the Legal Ladder:

Cyclists who excel in climbing possess a unique skill set and endurance, allowing them to conquer challenging mountain stages. Similarly, lawyers who develop expertise in complex legal issues or specialize in certain fields, such as artificial intelligence or environmental law, can elevate themselves in the legal profession. Climbing the legal ladder requires dedication to continuous learning and honing skills.

The Time Trial Mentality:

Time trials are a test of raw speed, and mental toughness. Lawyers can adopt a similar mentality when it comes to time-sensitive tasks such as drafting contracts, meeting deadlines, and handling urgent legal matters. Developing this mindset ensures lawyers can efficiently navigate the legal matter while delivering quality work within tight timelines.

Sprinting to Success:

The ability to sprint to the finish line after a long grind is a defining trait of successful cyclists. In the legal world, effective communication and negotiation skills can be viewed as the sprinting equivalent. Lawyers who can swiftly articulate their arguments, negotiate favourable terms, and close deals efficiently are more likely to achieve success in their respective fields.

Balancing Strengths and Weaknesses:

Just as cyclists work to improve weaknesses in their riding, lawyers should actively seek to address their shortcomings. Continuous professional development, attending relevant seminars, and seeking mentorship can help lawyers enhance their overall skill set.

Teamwork in the Legal Peloton:

Cycling teams operate as a cohesive unit, with each member contributing their strengths to support the team’s overall success. Though there is one lead, that individual cannot succeed without the group. Similarly, lawyers often work in teams, collaborating with colleagues, paralegals, and support staff. Recognizing the importance of teamwork and effectively leveraging the strengths of each team member can lead to more successful legal outcomes.

In the legal world, as in professional cycling, being a champion requires a diverse skill set and the ability to excel in various disciplines. By learning from the world tour cyclists, legal professionals can navigate the complex terrain of the legal landscape and emerge as true champions in their field. Maybe we should create a new yellow jersey award for our top lawyers.

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