For Lawyers, Change Is Key to Survival. And Willingness Is Key To Change...

2018 will be a "make-or-break year" for many law firms, writes Heather Suttie in Legal Markets and Marketing: 10 Trends to Watch and Watch Out For in 2018. Her overview of the key points in the Citi Private Bank – Hildebrandt Consulting 2018 Client Advisory Report provides useful insight into the future, and her conclusion stands as a warning to firms that balk before meaningful innovation and change:

Only those firms that get out of their own way and retool with speed in the very near future will be vital, vibrant, and solvent in the years to come.

Read the post. And while you're at it, read the Citi-Hildebrandt report. As if your future depended on it.

The First Rule of Innovation: Identify Your Client's Problem. Then Solve It

Looking for innovation in the legal profession? Look no further than Mark Harris, founder of Axiom Law: 

“The incumbent model is largely artisanal,” said Harris. “It’s perfect for novel challenges that are irreducibly complex, but it’s not necessary for the bulk of commerce.” 

Harris just inked a multi-year, multi-million dollar deal with a "major financial institution" to process the bank's standardized contracts governing swaps and other complicated, lengthy, and arcane agreements that generate significant regulatory and financial risk. Read Legal-Services Firm's $73 Million Deal Strips The Mystery From Derivatives Trading for details on the deal and how it could change the way the financial industry responds to increasing regulation without, well, breaking the bank. 

 

Then think about how a non-traditional provider of legal services is shaking things up in ways that should make every other lawyer and firm worried. About why a former SEC Chair joined Axiom's board of directors after she learned about the deal. About what you can do to identify your client's problems, and then solve them. Before somebody else does.

Fill In The Blank: In 2015, I Resolve To __________

Still struggling with your resolutions for the coming year? Matt Homann's latest post on the [non]billable hour has for all the "resolution inspiration" you'll ever need.

Homann has compiled ten of his favorite posts (from the more than 100 he has written) for lawyers and firms on setting - and achieving - the right kind of goals, those that will make you and your clients happier and calmer and better. And they're all worth reading. Our favorite? "Resolve to get less business:"

If too much income comes from clients you hate serving, find a different practice area or a different job.

Read the post. Resolve to change for the better this year.

In This Future of the Legal Profession, The Only Constant Is Change

One thing is certain: evolution in the legal profession is true whether you believe in it or not. Because it is truly happening, write the authors of the 2015 Citibank Hildebrandt Client Advisory (pdf), who note:

Demand for law firm services appears to be growing at a more modest pace than the demand for legal services.

Such a statement would have been unthinkable in a not-too-distant past. Today, it just sets up a valuable discussion on the future of the legal profession, or as it's called in the report: "What It Takes To Be a Successful Firm:"

1. An Increasing Focus on Margin Growth vs. Just Revenue Growth
2. Growing Sophistication on How to Price and Manage the Delivery of Legal Services
3. A Different Leverage Model
4. Leveraging Technology
5. An Increased Focus on Partner Performance and Skillset
6. A strategic approach to practice and client succession
7. Differentiating the Brand
8. Client Centricity
9. Leveraging the Platform
10. Management of the Talent Pipeline
11. Leadership in a Volatile Market

Read the report. Prepare for your future.

(Hat-tip to Ron Friedmann)

The problem with the evolution is that it never stands still.

Tim Corcoran's "Law Firm Leaders: Moving the Needle" on Corcoran's Business of Law Blog. Want some insight into the competition's strategy? How it's adapting to an evolving profession? How it defines client service, innovation, diversity? What it's doing to address the key issues shaping the profession today and in the future? Here's your chance. Corcoran's post recaps a panel discussion featuring the heads of Miles & Stockbridge, Williams Mullen, and McKenna Long & Aldridge (hosted by the Capital Chapter of the Legal Marketing Association) where these topics, and many more, were on the agenda. But it's more than a mere summary of an interesting and insightful discussion from a group of law firm leaders. It's also a thoughtful commentary on those very same issues, from one of the people leading the innovation charge. Read it. You'll learn something.

This is creative? Innovative? Can't you do better than that?

Julie Kay's "Companies Get Creative to Cut Legal Costs" at Law.com. Unless you've been living under a rock, you're well aware of the ever-increasing pressure on in-house counsel to reduce legal costs. So the fact that Microsoft and H-P are outsourcing their work to India, using solos instead of BigLaw whenever they can, and negotiating alternative and fixed fee deals isn't particularly newsworthy. So why read this article? Two reasons. First, because there's an interesting discussion of just how important international skills and experience have become to global clients:

"When I started, everything I did ... all the regulatory work ... was centered in Washington,"
[Microsoft Corporate VP and Deputy GC Horacio] Gutierrez said. "Now the centers of power are Asia, Sao Paulo and Moscow. The majority of our revenue comes from outside the United States." 

That drives corporate counsel to hire lawyers who are multilingual and understand the cultural sensitivities of other countries, Gutierrez said.

But more importantly, because if H-P and Microsoft look at outsourcing, solo practitioners, and alternative and fixed fees as "innovative" and "creative," it's clear that they still measure the value of legal services by the cost of those services. Doesn't that leave room for the firm that is truly creative, truly innovative, truly interested in solving their clients' problems, whether they be obtaining patents across the globe, or managing a diverse team of 50 patent lawyers, or demonstrating to corporate that they are getting maximum value from their legal spend? Maybe that could be your firm.

Today's Law Marketing Resource

Guy Kawasaki's "Why Websites Suck" on the American Express Open Forum. #1 reason? "Organization-centricity:"

"At the root of practically, every website failure I’ve come across is the organization wanting the customer to fit around how it’s organized, how it thinks, and the language that it uses. By contrast, great websites organize around the customer."

Does that describe your firm's website? How could your site be organized around your clients?

From Law Marketing Blog: "Creative Destruction: How to Get that Great Next Job"

"Creative Destruction: How to Get that Great Next Job" from Law Marketing Blog. Every once in a while you come across a post that reaches out of your computer and smacks you right in the face. This is that post. Rethinking the value proposition, how you provide greater value to your clients and then articulate that value in terms that demonstrate precisely how you can help your client be more successful, sleep better at night, achieve her business objectives? Read this post, and follow Gordon Miller's advice. It's hard to imagine that it won't help you become more successful yourself (and get that great next job, if that's what you're after).

From Law21.ca: "How to compete on price"

"How to compete on price" from Law21.ca. Jordan Furlong's analyses of current trends in the legal profession, what those trends mean for lawyers and firms, and how they will affect clients and services are always insightful, informative, and instructive. Just like this post. Don't want to compete on price? There might be a better way. Read this post and see if you agree.

From The AmLaw Daily: "Welcome to the Future: Are Law Schools 'Beached'?"

"Welcome to the Future: Are Law Schools 'Beached'?" from Paul Lippe writing for The AmLaw Daily. If you're in the legal profession, you need to read this article. Not just because it further drives home the message that the current model is not working for clients, precisely those the system should be designed to benefit (United Technologies refuses to pay for first- and second-year associate time). Not just because it links the shortcomings of the current legal education system with other significant changes going on in the profession (free legal research, anyone?). Not just because it provides a useful perspective on the problems, but because it begins to look at solutions, at next steps, at effecting change, instead of merely lamenting the broken system.

Law Firm Evolution: Brave New World or Business as Usual?

I attended the Georgetown University Law Center Conference on “Law Firm Evolution: Brave New World or Business as Usual?” this week. It was tremendous. The presentations, the discussions, the ideas and the overall energy made this one of the best conferences I have ever attended in my career, and a powerful reminder of why I do what I do. Sound over the top? Read these articles, blog posts, papers, and other commentaries on the conference, and then tell me what you think.

Conference Papers and Related Documents

• “Abandoning Homogeneity in Legal Education,” Thomas D. Morgan
• “Business Models in Legal Practice: Toward Definition and Assessment,” Stephen Mayson
• “Chinese Law Firms After the Financial Crisis: The Case of Shanghai,” Sida Liu and Xueyao Li
• “Coase, Schumpeter, and the Future of the (Law) Firm,” David McGowan and Bernard A. Burk
• “The Consolidation of the Global Advertising Industry: Lessons for Law Firms?,” Andrew von Nordenflycht
• “The Death of BigLaw,” Larry Ribstein
• “Evolution and Revolution in the Governance of Law Firms,” Laura Empson
• “Hiring Teams from Rivals: Theory and Evidence on the Evolving Relationships in the Corporate Legal Market,” Michele DeStefano Beardslee, David Wilkins, John Coates and Ashish Nanda)
• “Law firm of the 21st century: The clients’ revolution,” Eversheds
• “Layoffs, Lawyers, and Learning,” Paul Oyer and Scott Schaefer)
• “Make or Buy Decisions: Theory and Evidence in Legal Services,” Mari Sako
• “The New Normal,” Paul Lippe
• “The Return of the Apprentice: New Lawyer Training Models for the 21st Century,” Jordan Furlong
• “Supply Chains and Porous Boundaries: The Disaggregation of Legal Services,” Milton C. Regan, Jr., in 78 Fordham L. Rev. 101 (2010) (forthcoming).
• “Third-Party Litigation Funding,” Anthony Sebok
• “Will There Be a Changing of the Guard? Law Firm Lessons from the Great Depression,” Peter Sherer

Session Recaps from Ron Friedmann at Prism Legal

• “Emerging Relationships Between Law Firms and Clients (Tweeted Conference Report)”
• “Creative Destruction and Innovation (session report, Georgetown Law)”
• “Business Models: Strategy and Governance (Session Report, Georgetown Law Conf)”
• “David Wilkins on Mega Trends for Legal Profession (Session Report, Georgetown Law Conf)”
• "KM in Action (After Action Review at a Conference)"

Articles and Commentary

• “The Change Agenda: Are We There Yet?” from Aric Press at AmLaw Daily
• “The Change Agenda: Is Mega Law a Dead Man Walking?” from Aric Press at AmLaw Daily
• “Calls for New Model of Law Firm-Client Relations at Georgetown Conference” from Law.com's Small Firm Business
• "Extreme Makeover: Law Firm Edition" from Vault's Law Blog
• “From Georgetown Law: ‘Law Firm Evolution-Brave New World or Business as Usual?’” from The Posse List
• “From Georgetown Law: ‘Law Firm Evolution’ – a video interview with Richard Susskind, author of ‘The End of Lawyers?’” from The Posse List (see also video interviews below)
• "From Georgetown Law: 'Law Firm Evolution-Brave New World or Business as Usual?' -- our review of the conference" from The Posse List
• "Georgetown Law School evokes Punk rock" from Joshua Kubicki on Legal on Ramp (registration required)
• “Is the Law-Firm Model Dying? Not Yet, But It Might Be On The Clock” from WSJ Law Blog
• "Law firm evolution at Georgetown" from Larry Ribstein's Ideoblog
• “Law Firm Evolution Conference at Georgetown in the US: my take” from Robert Sawhney’s Marketing Asia blog
• "Law Firm (R)Evolution & Gaps" from Joshua Kubicki's Legal Transformation: The Changing Legal Profession
• “Law Firm Time Bomb: You Have 18 Months To Try And Keep Your Clients”, from Business Insider Law Review
• “Lawyer Layoff Patterns: Young Go 1st, and Top 10 JD Is No Shield” from the ABA Journal
• "Layoff Patterns: was there a method to the madness?" from Above the Law
• "Murmurs of Change, but Where's the Proof?" from ABA Journal
• "New Model Evolving: Law Firms Have 18 Months Maximum to Adapt" from Law and More.
• “Panelists Explore New Business Models for Big Law” from The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times
• “Panelists Predict Changes to, Not Death of, Big Law” from The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times
• “Patterns Emerge from Lawyer Layoffs” from The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times
• “Paul Lippe, Lewis and Clark, and Google Maps” from In Search of Perfect Client Service
• "Report Finds Power Shift and Declining Support for Law Firm 'Up or Out' Model" from the ABA Journal
• "Secondments will rise if more firms decide they are a prerequisite to become a partner" from Rees Morrison's Law Department Management
• “So Long, Blank Checks: Clients Saying Get with the Program, or Get Out of the Way” from Shatterbox
• "Total median compensation of a group of general counsel was five times salary" from Rees Morrison's Law Department Management
• “Warnings Toll for BigLaw Firms Resistant to Change” from the ABA Journal

What the Hashtag?! Twitterstream

Video Interviews from Gregory Bufithis of The Posse List and Lisa DiMonte of MyLegal.com

Leah Cooper

Anthony Davis



Jose M. de Areilza

Michele DeStefano Beardslee

Deborah Epstein Harry

Ron Friedmann



Cynthia Fuchs Epstein



Jordan Furlong



David Galbenski



Susan Hackett

Joshua Kubicki

Bruce MacEwen

Stephen Mayson



David McGowan



Marisa Mendez



Thomas Morgan

Mitt Regan



Larry Ribstein



Timothy Scrantom

Reena SenGupta

Paul Smith

Richard Susskind

Laurel S. Terry

Have you read these?

A smattering of interesting and insightful posts from the blawgosphere and beyond

• “The Great Newspaper Meltdown, and What It Means For Our Pricing” from Adam Smith, Esq. The dying newspaper industry provides the perfect backdrop for another thoughtful post from Bruce MacEwen on law firm economics and pricing in the face of increasing debate – from all sides – on how lawyers should bill for their work. Regular readers of this blog know that I am a big fan of MacEwen’s work. This post will make you one, too.
  
  
• “Great conversations build great relationships” from Building Enduring Client Relationships. You already know this, don’t you? So did the guy in this story. And yet he still couldn’t figure it out on his own. Conversations lead to relationships which, in the professional services business, lead to work. That’s one of the exciting things about social networking: it makes starting the conversations – traditionally the hardest part – simple and easy. But that doesn’t mean the hard part goes away…. 
  
  
• “First Signs of a New Equilibrium in Entry-Level Salaries” from Empirical Legal Studies. Unless you live on Mars, or are on vacation, you probably have already heard about Drinker Biddle’s one-year associate training program. Why should you read this post? Because Bill Henderson is one of the leading thinkers in the empirical analysis of the legal profession space (he co-organized the recent FutureFirm competition), spends his time studying how law firms are structured and managed, and knows this stuff better than most. Need another reason? The future is now, and Drinker Biddle is writing it. Shouldn’t you be doing the same?
  
  
• “Buying Lessons from a Master Salesman” from Trust Matters. Another post that tells a story about selling (and buying) to give valuable insight on the buying process. It works. Lawyers, read this post every time you’re pitching work. The people across the table already know you’re an expert. You don’t need to convince them of that. You need to show them that they can trust you.
  
  
• “Bear Experiences vs. Bare Products” from Working Knowledge. This post is about innovation. And teddy bears. Intrigued? Read it, and you’ll see why it is summarized as “innovate the experience, not just the product.” When you’re done, think about the ways you might be able to innovate the experience for your clients. Your competition is, and some of them are even doing it. Don’t let yourself be left behind.
  

Have you read these?

A smattering of interesting and insightful posts from the blawgosphere and beyond

• “Why Thinking Like a Lawyer Is Bad for Your Career” from the ABA Journal online. Lawyers, although they may not have changed your behavior, chances are you’ve already thought about the points raised in this article. But it’s worthwhile to think about them again, and then reflect on how “thinking like a lawyer” can impact other aspects of your career, like knowledge management (see Mary Abraham’s post) and marketing.
  
  
• “Extraordinary Impact” from Conversation Agent. Yes, Web 2.0 has changed the way professionals communicate. Yes, it has changed the way they market their services. Yes, it has changed the way they establish the relationships that drive success. But don’t be fooled: the same principles apply today as they did in the last century. This post explains how and why.
  
  
• “Being popular or populist? Innovation in law firms” from Decent Shred. Innovation is hard in any profession. It takes good ideas, relentless commitment, powerful marketing, effective selling, and significant goodwill. But it’s essential, even in the context of law firms, and this post provides practical advice for anyone trying to bring about change in their firm.
  
  
• “Nine Legal Technology Trends for 2009 - The Year of Hunkering Down” from Dennis Kennedy’s blog. If you’re not familiar with Kennedy’s comprehensive and insightful work, I won’t be able to do it justice in a single paragraph. So let me put it this way: read this if you are (i) part of the legal profession, (ii) use any form of technology to do your job, and (iii) want to remain competitive as the delivery of legal services evolves. Did I miss anyone?
  
  
• “A Shot Across the Marketing and Sales Bow” from Demand Trigger. I recently discovered Mike O’Horo’s blog, and promptly added it to my RSS feed. Read this post and you’ll know why I did. You’ll also get a better understanding of why legal marketers need to drive the repositioning of marketing as one of the legal profession’s core business functions.
  

Have you read these?

A smattering of valuable posts from the blawgosphere and beyond

• “A Clean Sheet of Paper” from Above and Beyond KM. The post oozes useful advice. When you place it in the context of the current issues facing law firms, it shakes things up a bit (in the good way). I wonder what the profession would look like if more firms went through the “redesign from scratch” exercise. Read it and decide for yourself. The bonus? Great back and forth conversations with the blogger at the comments. 
  
  
• “Listen Up!” from a public defender. Anybody can talk. Successful lawyers know how to listen. This brief post makes a clear case for improving your listening skills. I've already started to talk less and listen more. You can too.
  
  
• “A Silver Lining…” from Thoughtful Legal Management. Be still my heart…. This is great stuff: a long list of what the thriving firms are doing in the face of the economic crisis. You can bet they’re excited about 2009. For the rest of you, here’s a recipe for success: 1) read this post, 2) see what those firms are doing, and 3) get at it on your own!
  
  
• “Important Tips From Three Referral Gurus” from Legal Marketing Blog.com. This is extremely good advice on the value of referrals, and what you need to do to get them. We all know that referrals are important sources of business. This is the first post I’ve read that gives such valuable advice on how to find success with referrals.
  
  
• “Innovation During The Downturn? BigLaw Apparently Says No” from In Search of Perfect Client Service. The perception-of-value gulf of between lawyers and clients has never been so broad. This post articulates that gulf better than many I’ve seen. Lawyers: read this.
  

Have you read these?

A smattering of interesting posts from the blawgosphere and beyond

• “23 Ideas for How to Start a Consulting Practice” from Branding & Marketing. A lot more than 23 ideas here. Some very practical, some philosophical, and the rest in-between. Six screens of ideas (by my count), but you’ll be glad you read them all.
  
  
• “The Compleat Consultant” from Alan’s Blog at Contrarian Consulting. Good advice for any consultant, but especially good for lawyers: everything you do must communicate the value you provide. The value you provide, not the law you practice, not the cases you’ve handled, not the transactions you’ve managed. The value you provide. Is that clear?
  
  
• “Journalists, Bloggers & Media Outlets on Twitter,” a wiki hosted by Sarah Evans (@PRsarahevans) and the #journchat Twitterati. Great resource. Bookmark it. Tweet about it. According to Kevin O’Keefe, “Lawyers reach influencers on Twitter (bloggers/media).”  This is a list of those influencers. How much would you pay for this?
  
  
• “Ten Rules of Rainmaking” from Matt Homann’s blog, the [non]billable hour. Homann’s stuff is always great: thoughtful ideas for lawyers and legal professionals who want to think – and practice law – differently. My advice? Start reading now, and you'll quickly want to do the same.
  
  
• “Businesses currently on Twitter” from twibs.com. Another great resource. When I last looked there were 4,331. People used to pay a lot of money for this kind of information. Aren’t you glad you don’t have to do that anymore?
  

The ReTweek: Important Stuff

Interesting tweets from the past week about important stuff you should know 

• If you have business, you MUST read this; best article I have read yet on managing through tough times. http://is.gd/hD5o 
  
  
• Hillary Clinton in China. This post nicely (and concisely) sets out issues to be discussed. http://bit.ly/43zfXf 
  
  
• Top 100 leadership blogs http://adjix.com/3qhr 
  
  
• Failure of newspaper biz rests solely on shoulders of those who have run newspaper biz http://tr.im/etfu 
  
  
• Releasing the Chinese Uighur Muslims from Gitmo is going to be complicated: http://bit.ly/3SAUAa 
  
  
• Madoff Victim List (163 pages) http://tinyurl.com/b94v9k 
  
  
• Eye-opening chart of new home sales and recessions since 1963 http://bit.ly/yx7d 
  
  
• "Korea: Mass Innovation Comes of Age" pdf book. Can Korea emerge as innovator despite challenges? http://is.gd/ik2Z 
  
  
• "China: The Next Science Superpower?" pdf book evaluates China's drive for "independent innovation." http://is.gd/ik2w 
  
  
• This is very interesting Map of disappearing languages: http://is.gd/igV2 
  
  
• Tom Peters makes a good case for giving your work away for free: http://bit.ly/ko7I 
  
  
• Making Boeing 787 = making Shrek? Fail. http://bit.ly/cyE2