Leadership and the 21st-Century Law Firm

A recent quick search using a couple of popular search engines under “law firm leadership” brought up over 37 million hits on one site and over 42 million on the other. These numbers increase daily. While this is not hard data by any measure, it is indicative of the topical nature and interest in this subject. The hard evidence that supports this suggestion has emerged in the form of the ever increasing number of public and in-house leadership training programs and executive leadership coaching for senior associates and partners in law firms. Law firms have recently recognized the need to do more to identify and develop future leaders. While these steps have been important they are not enough. As changes in the industry and profession continue to emerge it seems that leadership of 21st-century law firms may be increasingly less about doing more and more about doing things differently.