There have been four waves of change over the last 50 years. We are now entering the fifth wave and this one will be a tsunami. The lawyers who do not recognize the trends will not be able to enter a new era and survive. The fifth wave will turn partnership leverage, compensation systems and the business model upside down. There is not much time to make the incremental changes that will support sustained profitability in law firms.
The Wall Street Journal's recent front-page headline on billing rates tells only part of the story. "Legal Fees Cross New Mark: $1,500 an Hour," the Feb. 9 article announced before listing partner hourly rates at several big firms. But that's only part of the story.
Despite appearing to accept that rapid and ongoing market change is here to stay, firms, and their leaders, have responded with change efforts that can largely be described as limited and reactive short-term solutions. Why?
Ask lawyers what they find EXCITING about selling (it is okay to use the "sales" word) and most will say winning, followed closely by developing new relationships. On the flipside, they fear rejection and failure. Add risk aversion and low resilience to the mix and business development can feel daunting.
Since debuting in law firms nearly a decade ago, the latest generation of lawyers has raised more than a few eyebrows. Workplace flexibility, firm culture integration, meaningful training with takeaways and clearly defined billable hour goal options were not nearly as mainstream before the arrival of the Millennials.
These days, we are continually being bombarded by one new tech concept after another ' the most current being IoT (or the Internet of Things) and Big Data. To feel secure moving our businesses forward among the onslaught of all these changes, it is necessary to simplify our understanding.
If your firm is like most, your top goals include growing revenue, and in turn, increasing profitability. You've implemented practice management software, and probably even a customer relationship management (CRM) system to help you achieve those objectives. Now what?
Lawyers love a debate, and it looks like a doozy is set concerning nonlawyer ownership of law firms (NLO). The president of the New York State Bar Association, David P. Miranda, has requested that New York lawyers just "Say No to Nonlawyer Ownership (NLO)."
Since debuting in law firms nearly a decade ago, the latest generation of lawyers has raised more than a few eyebrows.
Question: Do law firms really need to please clients all of the time? Answer: Of course not. Only work to please those clients you wish to keep.
