Last week, we spoke at the 20th Annual Meeting of LEGUS, an international network of law firms, in New Orleans. We were asked to discuss the importance of investing in young lawyers and grooming them for a successful future. Generally, law schools aren’t doing a very good job training and developing “practice-ready” lawyers. And most law firms aren’t doing a stand-out job either when it comes to training them in areas such as time management, billing practices, marketing and business development. (By the way, click here to read what Skadden is up to.)

In addition to the obligatory PowerPoint slide deck, my handout materials include five great articles about law firm leadership.

Not long ago, two of the country’s leading law firm consultancies conducted ground-breaking research to identify what highly profitable and fast-growing mid-size firms do that make them so successful. They identified forty mid-size US firms that were significantly out-performing similar firms. They conducted a series of interviews with the leaders and administrators of those firms. Through these in-depth interviews, they identified twelve characteristics that directly contribute to these firms’ success. Using audience polling technology, The Managing Partner Forum then asked 180 managing partners who attended recent MPF Leadership Conferences to grade their firms’ performances in these twelve critical areas.

Change surrounds the legal industry. The marketplace for legal services is more competitive than ever, and the pace of change will accelerate into the future. Law firms that embrace strategic planning and innovation, invest in their people and their clients, and build cultures that encourage teamwork and accountability are emerging as the clear winners. At the same time, once great law firms are falling apart and many won’t survive. To remain viable and competitive, law firms must operate more like businesses, and that means strong, effective and passionate leadership.

We’re pleased to share the audience polling results from The MPF 2014 Leadership Conference held on May 8, 2014 in Atlanta. More than 100 managing partners and firm leaders participated. The bench-marking data in this slide deck is especially relevant to smaller and mid-size firms.

Among the highlights:

• Sixty-eight percent (68%) of managing partners believe that the legal profession has experienced profound and permanent change over the past ten years.
• Thirty-two percent (32%) of firm leaders are “very concerned” about their firm’s long-term viability.
• Sixty-five percent (65%) don’t think their younger lawyers are up to the task of inheriting the firm.
• Seventy percent (70%) believe that a firm-wide strategic plan is “absolutely essential” to lead a successful firm.
• The top three initiatives firms have implemented in response to the changing market are: 1) Ramp up marketing and business development. 2) Improve internal processes and procedures. 3) Pursue lateral hires with books of business.
• Eighty-eight percent (88%) of managing partners say they enjoy the leadership role.

More than ever, strong and effective leadership is necessary in today’s highly competitive and rapidly changing market.

We’re pleased to share a second set of audience polling results we collected at the ALA (Association of Legal Administrators) Annual Conference in Toronto on May 21, 2014. This session drilled down on strategic planning, including making the case, setting up the process, the ingredients of a good plan and keys to successful implementation.

The bench-marking data in this slide deck is especially relevant to leaders of smaller and mid-size firms as 60% of participating firms had fewer than 50 lawyers. An estimated 225 law firm administrators attended the 60-minute session.

Among the highlights:

• Eighty-four percent (84%) of firm administrators believe a firm-wide strategic plan is an absolute necessity to run a successful law firm in today’s environment.
• Yet, only forty-one percent (41%) reported that their firms have a firm-wide strategic plan. Twenty-nine percent (29%) said their firms were working on one.
• On implementation, seventy percent (70%) graded their firms a “C” or below. Why the struggle? Too many ill-defined goals, often coupled with a lack of leadership and little accountability.
• Among firms without a plan, the top three reasons were: 1) Firm leaders don’t see the need. 2) Leaders see the need, but can’t convince the others. 3) We’re too busy.

In today’s highly competitive and rapidly changing market, law firms must develop and implement firm-wide strategic plans if they want to thrive, prosper and get where they want to go. Absent a plan, any path will take you there.

We presented a 90-minute session at the ALA (Association of Legal Administrators) Annual Conference in Toronto on May 20th with about 200 law firm administrators in attendance. As part of the session, we used audience polling technology to survey participants on a myriad of issues relating to the business side of running their law firms. Firms ranged in size from 10-1,000 lawyers, with most in the 25- to 150-lawyer range. Among the highlights:

• Firm administrators, generally, said their firms provide great client service, yet 61% never bother to ask for client feedback. In fact, fewer than 20% said they solicit client feedback on a regular basis.
• Forty-one percent said their firms had a firm-wide strategic plan, with another 27% working on one. Of those with a plan, most gave their firms poor marks on successful implementation. Planning without implementation is a colossal waste of time, effort and energy.
• When it comes to dealing with difficult issues, not one firm administrator gave his/her firm a “10.” Most gave their firms poor grades in this very important area.
• Sixty-three percent said their firms had two-tiered partnership structures, with another 10% putting one in place.

There’s some great bench-marking data here that you and your partners need to know. We suggest that you use it to inform (and perhaps persuade) the skeptics and nay-sayers at your firm about the importance of running the place more like a business…with goals, a plan, team-work and accountability.

We believe that every law firm, regardless of size and practice mix, should have a firm-wide strategic plan. The plan should set forth where the firm will be in five years and the initiatives it will implement to get there. For successful implementation, the plan should be short, realistic and achievable. Strong and effective leadership is also required. This brief interview was conducted on March 31, 2014 and includes discussion about:

• Why your firm needs a plan to remain viable and competitive,
• Why change is required to maintain and improve profitability and productivity,
• How to get the strategic planning process underway at your firm,
• The keys to successful implementation,
• How planning improves the firm’s bottom line,
• Recommendations for solos and smaller firms, and
• The characteristics of a good law firm strategic plan.

This recorded session will be invaluable to you if your firm is considering strategic planning for the first time, or if you’ve been struggling with implementation. We encourage you to share it with your partners and/or your management/executive committee and discuss at one its upcoming meetings.

Law firm marketing has come a long way in 25 years, and firms are starting to figure out what works and what doesn’t. In the early days, it was mostly about brochures, sponsorships and advertising. More recently, however, smart firms have shifted the way they allocate their marketing and business development resources. And the action is with business development.
A few facts to consider:

• Client hire lawyers, not law firms.
• Clients hire and refer lawyers they know, like and trust.
• For most commercial firms, 80% of next year’s business will come from current clients.
• It takes 5-7 times more time and effort to generate a matter from a new client than from an existing client.

As managing partner, how can you be sure if your firm’s investments of time, effort and money are really paying off?  Where should it be investing its precious marketing resources?

The answers can be found in the handout materials we created for a speech we’ve presented quite a few times over the past year. It’s called “How to Maximize Your Law Firm’s Marketing ROI.”

On April 16, 2013 MPF President and CEO John Remsen, Jr. spoke at the ALA’s Annual Conference on a topic near and dear to The Managing Partner Forum.  It was entitled “Law Firm Leadership: The Critical Role of Firm Administrators.” When it comes to firm administrators, our message to managing partners is really quite simple. As managing partner, you’re the CEO of a multi-million dollar enterprise. To be most effective in the role, hire and empower a trusted and competent COO to take time-consuming day-to-day matters off your desk, so you can focus on more important big picture issues. More than 200 attended the session. Click above to download the handout materials.

Each month, John Sterling offers insightful analysis of his “Law Firm Strategy Question of the Month” and presents a new question for the coming month. Recent topics include:
•  Partner Compensation System Satisfaction,
•  Profit Improvement Strategies, and
•  Creating the Model Partner.
It’s good stuff and we encourage you to check it out.

On August 29th, we presented a Managing Partner Breakfast Roundtable in San Diego. The meeting attracted 20 firm leaders from the region and was sponsored by UPS. The topic was “How to Be a More Effective Firm Leader.” These handout materials include some terrific benchmarking data on how 160 managing partners rate their firms in twelve critical areas.

We asked a series of questions, utilizing state-of-the-art audiance participation technology, to more than 35 managing partners and firm leaders at the inaugural Managing Partner Forum for Northeastern Law Firms held on November 4, 2011 in Boston. Their answers are consistent with previous polling sessions. 80% do not have a job description and 85% have no planned exit strategy. We think they should have both.