Creating a Clear Line of Sight

“There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.” Sam Walton, Wal-Mart Founder The client must sit at the centre of any strategy – those we serve today and those we engineer our firm to target in […]
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Hardwiring Values

Published in Managing Partner magazine   In law firms of all sizes, managing partners are keen to position their firms as having a clear set of guiding principles by which they conduct business, engage with teams and serve clients. However, there is often an underlying misconception that a values-led approach is altruistic or, worse still, […]
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A Strategic Perspective: Why strategy matters most in the ‘New World Order’

Chapter One of Client Strategy in a Changing Legal Market report   Why strategy matters most in the ‘New World Order’ Since the collapse of Lehman Brothers at the end of 2008 which sparked the worst global recession in recent history, law firms have been reeling from a combination of the economic pressure that has […]
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A New Approach for a New World

Change Management for Law Firms   LAW FIRMS continue to grapple with a number of shifts in their competitive environment as difficult market conditions show little sign of abatement. These issues create a maelstrom that will tax the skills of any leadership team to the limit. Here we consider some of the core drivers in […]
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Global Firms Should Worry More About Brand Experience Than Single Profit Pools

Published in Managing Partner magazine   The rise in international mergers over the past two years has raised a number of interesting issues about the way in which law firms can best service clients on a global basis. One of the more introspective questions asked by some in the profession is whether these unions are […]
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Client Strategy in a Changing Legal Market – Executive Summary

Report published by ARK Group   Client strategy sits at the heart of all strategy. Without the ability to attract and retain clients, at a price which delivers an acceptable level of profitability, no business can be viable in the longer term. A firm’s client strategy should be under constant review in order to ensure […]
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Running faster to stand still

“If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.” Lewis Carroll “Activity is increasing but pricing is difficult” would be a fair summation of the views expressed to me by Managing Partners over the last three months. Firms across all segments of the market are running faster to stand still. […]
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Power of the Crowd

Published in Managing Partner magazine   The latest issues of the Legal 500 and Chambers & Partners directories have been published recently, while Waterlow’s Solicitors’ and Barristers’ Directory is out in February. Firms and partners will either laud them as erudite works or dismiss them as misinformed – the key determinant being their individual showing. […]
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Game Plan

Published in Managing Partner magazine   Alternative fee arrangements are here to stay. A combination of increased competitive sophistication and recession economics mean that clients of all hues are increasingly unwilling to pay their lawyers on the basis of hourly charges. Client demand means that legal services must be delivered better, faster and cheaper. Firms […]
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Competitive Force

Published in Managing Partner magazine   The book Blue Ocean Strategy challenges the primacy of competitive strategy theories. While originally developed to support longer-term corporate strategy, the principles of a Blue Ocean approach can be adapted to create new value propositions and strongly differentiate a law firm. Rather than simply dominating existing markets, it argues […]
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Innovation Imperative

“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” Ralph Waldo Emerson Innovation can take many forms. Delving into a dictionary would support a proposition that innovation is simply introducing something new – nothing more, nothing less. Business innovation is also highly contextual; in many […]
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Land of Promise

Published in KM Legal magazine   The enduring market for legal services, with supply significantly exceeding demand, means that law firms are being challenged by their clients to deliver their services better, faster and cheaper than ever before. Impending deregulation seems set to be a further catalyst for this now established trend. A wide range […]
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The Role of Competitive Intelligence in Shaping Strategy

Competitive Intelligence: Improving Law Firm Strategy and Decision Making   “IF YOU are ignorant of both your enemy and yourself, then you are a fool and certain to be defeated in every battle. If you know yourself, but not your enemy, for every battle won, you will suffer a loss. If you know your enemy and […]
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Changed Minds

“My dear friend, clear your mind of can’t.” Samuel Johnson The challenge of change remains the most pressing issue facing firms. Overcoming longstanding, deeply held assumptions about the way in which a professional should, or can, operate is the cultural roadblock that many need to overcome. A different way of thinking must permeate all aspects […]
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Merging Cultures

Managing Partner Magazine   The principle drivers behind law firm mergers are fundamentally economics and sustainable competitive position, but at the core of their long-term success is the ability to create a unified culture and shared sense of purpose. Even in the most unbalanced of law firm marriages, it is a foolhardy managing partner that […]
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Fit for the Future

Legal Week Student   What sort of world will the law firms of tomorrow inhabit? How will firms respond to changing client demands? What will the fundamental economics of a legal services business look like in ten years? What skills will be needed to succeed and where will they be acquired? These are some of […]
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A New Model of Partnership

Managing Partner magazine   Being a partner isn’t what it used to be! The economic climate, impending deregulation, ever rising client demands, attitudinal changes (both in society and among young professionals), the apparent obsolescence of the historic charging model and the impact of IT on process efficiency are all catalysts forcing change in many firms. […]
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Leading by Example

“Time is neutral and does not change things. With courage and initiative, leaders change things.” Jesse Jackson Leading a professional services firm can be an unenviable task but strong leadership, setting a clear sense of purpose and direction for the business, has never been more important. What is also crucial is that leaders, by their […]
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Walking the talk

Legal Marketing Magazine   Perusing law firms’ corporate communication materials and browsing their websites is a pretty mundane pastime. In truth there are only so many ways in which even the most eloquent of wordsmiths can say the same thing over and over and over again. Taken at face value we live in a world […]
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Virtually reality

Managing Partner Magazine   Virtual Law Partners (VLP/www.virtuallawpartners.com) was established in May 2008 with eight attorneys and now has around 50. It describes itself as a “virtually connected and geographically distributed firm that provides excellent legal service at very competitive rates”. When it was established it made the news in the US legal press for […]
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Out of this World

Managing Partner Magazine   The past year has seen unprecedented turbulence for the legal profession, but is perhaps simply a portent of what is to come. Longstanding rules of competition and client relationship management have been cast to one side. A new, resolutely commercial, approach is to the fore, which is an anathema to those […]
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Pitch Perfect…

Published in PSMG Magazine   When business is tight, maximising the opportunity afforded by pitches, presentations and proposals is quite rightly an area of intense focus for firms. But what are the simple guidelines which, if followed, can help to improve win rates? Success in winning business is, first and foremost, about selecting the right […]
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Temerity in the Face of Turbulence

“The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence; it is to act with yesterday’s logic.” Peter Drucker The legal sector faces a number of unprecedented challenges in the year ahead. The one with potential to disrupt most widely and deeply is a wholesale move to fixed-fee pricing. Surveys of in-house counsel show […]
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“The Road is Long” Merger Masterclass

Published in Managing Partner Magazine   Many managing partners regard the delivery of a successful merger as their gold-standard achievement. In one act they see themselves able to demonstrate, for the entire world to see, that their firm is going places, has ambition, and is prepared to move decisively and determinedly to achieve its goals. […]
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“Hitting the Ground Running” Business Development Masterclass

Published in Managing Partner Magazine   Many firms are coming to terms with a very uncomfortable truth: that growth is the only way out of the perilous position in which they find themselves. In many cases, costs have been pared to a point at which any further marginal reductions will have limited impact. Furthermore, the […]
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