Law Firms

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EMBRACE A BOLD VISION TO MEET THE IMPERATIVES OF THE 21ST CENTURY

In my forty six years in law, there’s never been a moment like this.  

Firms are preparing to resume normal operations after a period of totally remote working.  The phenomenon of “resuming” creates a unique chance for firms to take a fresh look at how they operate.  A chance to make those improvements that have been sitting on the drawing board.  A chance to make their firms all they can be, and need to be, to meet the imperatives of the 21st century. 

The moment is uniquely conducive to progress.  All firm personnel have just experienced how well different models work.  They enjoyed the greater flexibility, they embraced the greater responsibility, and they gained increased confidence in modern technology tools.  

And clients are expecting change.  They, too, have learned from the WFH experience.  And they now must recover from the negative economic impact the pandemic had on their businesses.  They need better, faster, and less expensive service more than ever,  

So, what path will law firms choose as they resume?   Will they simply return to business as usual?  Or will they reset, choosing a better and more modern path?  We are about to see. 

“What would you do, Ralph?”

In a video interview with Joe Calve for the Corporate Counsel Business Journal last month, Joe asked me, “What would you do if you were leading a law firm today?”   “I’d make the most of this moment,”  I responded.  Reflecting further on Joe’s question, I believe I would pursue five initiatives:

  • Create a comprehensive, integrated information hub
  • Embrace “Legal Technology 2.0”
  • Modernize the operating model
  • Increase diversity and inclusion
  • Double down on client relationships

I think law firm leaders should seriously consider such an action plan.  In my next few posts I’m going to talk about each of my ideas, phrased as recommendations to law firm leaders.  I’ll address the first one today, preceded by thoughts on how to approach the reset these recommendations will entail.
Continue Reading Law Firms Should Seize This Unique Moment

RE-ENTRY PRESENTS AN UNPRECEDENTED OPPORTUNITY FOR LAW FIRMS TO ADVANCE

This is my seventh post about law firms in the Coronavirus Crisis.

“Re-entering” from the crisis offers law firms an unprecedented opportunity to improve themselves.  Law firm leaders should take it seriously.

The opportunity derives from several elements.  

          A Chance for a Reset

First, re-entry creates a genuine moment for a reset.  This will not be just another Monday morning.  Firms will be moving from several months of doing everything differently.  They now must actively, literally decide how to do things going forward.

          New Normal Is in the Air

Second, “new normal” is in the air.  It would be an overstatement to say that everyone is expecting a new normal, but nearly everyone is wondering if firms will learn from recent events, and, I think, hoping they will.  

          Pre-Existing Imperative for Change

Third, law firms recognized an imperative for change before the crisis.  They knew their processes and models were behind the times, but the cost and inconvenience of change outweighed the benefits.  This imperative is only greater as we appraoch re-entry.
Continue Reading Three Building Blocks to Make Law Firm Re-Entry the Most it Can Be

THE FUTURE OF LEGAL SERVICES WILL NOT BE BUSINESS AS USUAL

This is my sixth post about law firms in the Coronavirus Crisis.

As governments around the US and the world begin to ease restrictions on social interaction, law firms, like all other business entities, are planning for “re-entry.” 

When law firms return from the compelled remote working experience, will they return to business as usual?  Will the fundamental operating models be the same as before?  Or will there be a “new normal”?  These are very real, and very important questions all law firm leaders need to answer.

History suggests that law firms revert to past practice once a crisis passes.  It is what they did after the financial crisis of 2008.  It is in their nature, they are trained to rely on precedent, and the old ways of working produce reliable results. 

I believe this time will be different for two fundamental reasons.  
Continue Reading Law Firms Must Look Ahead to a Very Different “New Normal”

Thoroughly Examining Lessons from the Coronavirus Crisis Operating Model

This is my fifth post about law firms in the Coronavirus Crisis.

In an earlier post, I suggested law firms pursue three ideas to navigate this crisis: Lead, Manage, and Learn.  This week I address the third idea.

There is a lot to learn

Two months into the crisis, most law firm leaders are well into the process of anticipating what the future holds, and getting ready for it.  Of course, no one actually knows what lies ahead, but we have increasing clues, and a growing understanding that the future will be different: a “new normal.” 

I have spoken directly to a large number of law firm leaders in the last few weeks about the impact of the crisis on their firms, and how they are managing and leading through it.  I am encouraged by how thoughtful they are being about the entire range of issues, including, specifically, the health and well-being of their people.  

Most law firm leaders are confident that demand will eventually return to robust levels. I think they are right.  The challenge will be staking out a strategy to continue to win at least as great a share of that demand as the firm did before the crisis.

Most law firm leaders also realize that the new normal will be even more competitive than before.  As they rebound from the financial impact of the crisis, clients will be more exacting in their standards, expecting greater value for each dollar they spend on legal services.  And the competitors, including ALSP’s and in-house solutions, as well as other law firms, will provide clients worthy alternatives to consider.   

I believe the most important change in the new normal will be in the way the law firms will operate and do their work. 
Continue Reading A Time to Learn: Three Questions Law Firms Should Ask to Prepare for the “New Normal”

AN OPPORTUNITY TO ENHANCE RELATIONSHIPS, INITIATIVES, AND HUMAN CONNECTION

This is my fourth post on law firms and the Coronavirus Crisis.  This week I’ll examine how firms can make themselves stronger in the long term, by actions they take during the crisis.

This post was inspired by a question Bob Ambrogi asked me on his show, Law Insights,  earlier this month: “Do you think there are any silver linings in this crisis,” he asked.  I answered yes and offered a couple of brief examples.  

I think the crisis actually creates a number of significant opportunities to advance firm interests, including to: 

  • Strengthen vital relationships
  • Activate institutional resources
  • Address projects that need attention 
  • Achieve a shared sense of accomplishment

Strengthening Vital Relationships

Law firms have a number of vital relationships, including, specifically, with their people, their clients, their suppliers, and their communities.  In each case there is a mutuality of interest and dependence. The healthier and stronger those relationships are, the healthier and stronger the firm is.

In a time like this, the way people interact with each other matters.  Nearly everyone is under stress, and uncertain about the future. They notice who seems sincerely to care about them, and who does not.
Continue Reading Potential Silver Linings: Making Firms Stronger for the Long Term By Actions During the Crisis

UNPRECEDENTED CHALLENGES REQUIRE IMAGINATIVE AND THOUGHTFUL APPROACHES

This is my third post about law firms in the Coronavirus Crisis.  Last week I addressed leadership. Today I turn to management.

Managing during this crisis will be challenging and mission critical. It will require leaders to draw on their experience and imaginations to adapt pre-existing strategic and operational plans to guide radically changed circumstances.  The firm still intends to go where it was going, but it needs to deal with a new set of challenges on its way.

Today, I want to share some thoughts about two of those challenges. 

Managing a Remote Workforce

Starting in mid-March, all law firms suddenly found themselves with a totally remote workforce.  An unprecedented management challenge.
Continue Reading Managing a Totally Remote Workforce and Budget Pressures in the Coronavirus Crisis

 A TIME LIKE NO OTHER: A LETHAL PANDEMIC GRIPS THE WORLD                                  

We suddenly find ourselves in a dire and unexpected crisis.  A lethal, novel virus is spreading like wildfire around the world, leading to social policy decisions that radically change the way we work and live, which in turn are wreaking havoc with the world economy and financial markets, and having other grave consequences.  

I have decided to devote Legal Services Today for the next few weeks to discussing how law firms work through this crisis and prepare for what follows.  Law firms are the dimension of legal services I know best, having spent a quarter century leading one. In that time we confronted some very challenging times, though none as challenging as this one.  

Law firms will be profoundly affected for the duration of the crisis, and beyond.  The way law firm leaders execute their responsibilities during this time will make a big difference on how the firms, and all who depend on them, fare.  

This week I will address the unusual and complicated nature of this crisis.  In the weeks ahead I will discuss specific facets of law firm leaders responsibilities in the crisis, including:

  • Leading stakeholders through these risky and uncertain times;
  • Managing operations in a suddenly-imposed remote format; 
  • Balancing financial and other vital considerations; and 
  • Distilling lessons from the crisis to make the firm stronger when it is over.

Here is the first installment:

Understanding the Unique Nature of This Crisis
Continue Reading Leading Your Law Firm Through the Coronavirus Crisis

AS LAW MODERNIZES THESE VALUES WILL BE MORE IMPORTANT THAN EVER BEFORE

This week I want to examine four core values that I believe enable effective legal service and promote public confidence, and their implications for our future. 

In almost all discussions of the future of law we focus on change.  What we need to do differently.  That is because we can and must do better.  A very healthy outlook.  

But, as we make changes, we should never lose sight of what enables clients and the public to have confidence in law and our justice system.  Those core values can be our guide as we decide how and what we change.

The Core Values of Effective Legal Service

The concept of “core values” took on special meaning for me when I read  Jim Collins’ and Jerry Jerry Porras’ seminal book Built to Last.  They were very helpful at Orrick as we articulated what mattered most many years ago.  They are values that must never be compromised. No matter how other considerations weigh on a decision, the core values must be honored.

I believe there are four core values that comprise the foundation of effective legal service: Client Focus; Quality; Character; and Reliable Outcomes. These are values established by our current system, at its best.  Here are my thoughts on each.
Continue Reading Four Core Values to Guide the Future of Law

WE SHOULD NOT DEFINE THE ROLES OF HALF OUR PEOPLE IN THE NEGATIVE

We really need to stop using the term “non-lawyer” to refer to everyone who works in legal services who has not passed the bar exam.  

This issue is much more than a word choice.  At best it is careless. At worst it reflects a lack of respect for the contributions that half  the people in legal services make. Either way, we should put an end to the use of the term.

No One Wants to Be Defined in the Negative

I first realized this problem more than 25 years ago when Norm Rubenstein, one of the most revered marketing professionals in law,  joined Orrick as our Chief Marketing Officer. It was a big moment for the firm. We were embracing bold new ideas in the way we presented ourselves to the market; Norm was joining us, along with a celebrated “dream team” he had recruited from other firms, to lead the effort. At the first partner meeting at which Norm unveiled our marketing mission he took me aside to share his disappointment that we referred to his team as “non-lawyers.” No one, he observed, wants to be defined in the negative. We had assembled some of the best people in their field only to define them in that way.

It was a true aha moment for me. One that has been with me ever since and affects my sense of how we should think about the talented people who work in our firms.  And how we should refer to them. 
Continue Reading Let’s Stop Calling Legal Service Professionals “Non-Lawyers”

THE TRADITIONAL MODEL WILL CHANGE IN FIVE FUNDAMENTAL WAYS 

I wrote last week about law firms’ increased focus on innovation, the market forces behind it, and why it is important to the overall modernization of legal services.  

I believe this innovation effort will inexorably lead to five fundamental changes in the law firm business model.  Each change will have an impact on the others; once one changes, the others will necessarily adapt. 

Here’s how I think it will work:

Innovation Is a Search for a Better Way

To innovate is “to make changes in something established, especially by introducing new methods, ideas, or products.”  In legal services, innovation involves re-examining the established way of doing things and finding better ways that new methods, ideas, and tools make possible. 

Innovation is a search for a better way. A search that is motivated by a realization that the traditional way is no longer satisfactory.  It works, but not well enough.  It fails to draw adequately on the new reality of what is possible.  It is falling short of what the market is now demanding.

As they proceed to innovate, firms are finding that their business model needs to adapt to make a better way possible. 
Continue Reading Innovation Will Change the Law Firm Business Model