Over the last few years, the legal operation managers' role has flourished, growing from a profession in its infancy into an unruly teenager, far more mature but with substantial areas poised for development. Now, more than ever, law departments are focused on implementing programs and structures to improve their financial management and deliver value.
As the chances of a data breach incident increase, savvy firms and businesses have invested time and thought in a response plan. But plans never survive first contact with the enemy. Stress test your incident response plan to find and resolve its weaknesses while time is on your side.
When we teach and discuss Legal Project Management (LPM), we stress that the last of LPM's five basic steps, Post Project Review, not only is every bit as essential as the first four steps, it can be an extraordinarily powerful business development lever, as well.
Though “Virtual Firms” Are on the Decline, Cloud Technology May Be Shifting the Model to Refocus on Lawyer Mobility
While the "virtual lawyer" may be on the decline, the technology making law practices more portable and potentially more efficient has seen a surge. The rise of cloud computing in particular has made it possible for attorneys to keep all the technology tools they need to practice on hand at all times and eschew direct client contact and office space if so desired.
Law departments are not being asked to do more with less? Instead, they are being asked to do more with more (though sometimes their budget increases are not keeping up with their new responsibilities).
Hard work alone will not propel your career forward to its highest possible level; you are going to need to be savvy at the art of self-promotion. This includes going outside of your firm to get new clients and letting those inside your firm know about your accomplishments to propel you up the corporate ladder.
A true partnership requires a compensation structure that rewards partner-like behavior — collegiality, mentoring, expansion and transition of client relationships to fellow partners, and a consensus to pursue long-term strategies promoting institutional stability rather than maximizing short-term profit metrics.
Lawyers need to know what the client wants and how to get them there before the process starts. Just like a driver who doesn't know exactly where he's taking his riders, a lawyer who isn't totally sure what a client wants — let alone how to get them there efficiently and effectively — is likely to end up with a client who is disgruntled.
Firms place a lot of weight on lateral hiring, but many of them aren't very good at it.
The issues that I confronted a dozen years ago when I became a CMO for the first time are very much the same issues that my CMO brothers and sisters face today. Irrespective of whether you've had decades of experience or not, the job is tough. Well, the job is relatively easy, but ensuring that your team members get all the credit and your firm hits its success metrics, while maintaining your visibility and growing your perceived value, remains very much a challenge to even the most seasoned professionals.
