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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

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”