Random thoughts on the business of law

Over the past few days, weeks and months – like many in Australia – I have seen and been part of some very reasonable, emotional and though provoking conversations about the upcoming Voice Referendum. Having sat on the sidelines during much of this conversation (typical lawyer, why voice an opinion when it might offside your clients!), I’m now of the view that this Referendum is our Brexit…

In this week's (#369) ICYMI Digest, the Feature article is by Brian Inkster  'LLMs in Law: Hype v Magic'. Other great reads highlighted include posts by:

👉 Stefanie Costi:  'A young lawyer’s case for scrapping the billable hour' 👉 Elodie Janvier CF APMP: 'How a bid library can increase your win rate and lower your tendering costs' 👉 Validatum (UK) Limited team: 'What Role Will Pricing Play in Your Firm’s Profitability This Year?' 👉 Ebere Josephine Uba:  'A Roadmap for Navigating Legal Innovation'  👉 Nataly Kelly: 'How Global Companies Can Create a Consistent Customer Experience'

In my experience, very few law firms in Australia have any consideration to this issue:

"Billable rates often pose a greater challenge than conflicts for lateral partners… …Envision a partner explaining a rate increase to a major client due to a switch to a larger firm; this could likely result in client loss"

I was interested to read that Australian law firm Meridian Lawyers has entered into a "strategic alliance” with Singapore-based Donaldson & Burkinshaw LLP - to strengthen and expand its insurance and commercial legal operations.

Further evidence of the growing importance of Singapore's legal market for insurance firms.

"If you are being subjected to employee reviews every year, you need another employer."

"You can’t transform your customer experience unless you align the organizational culture—especially the day-to-day behaviors of employees—to reach a clear outcome."

In this week's (#368) ICYMI Digest I highlight:

👉 the great work the team Asia Law Portal are doing with two great articles published this week by Anam Khan and  Patrick Dransfield 👉 a post by Alistair Marshall on 'How to Respond when Prospects go Silent on you.'  👉 something by Richard Burcher on  'Don’t Blame Your Clients for Write-offs, and Growing Debtor Days – They’re Your Fault'  👉 a fascinating piece by Mike Schultz on '16 Negotiation Tactics Buyers Use and How to Respond'

As well as links to some really great stuff posted on the www this week.

Here's the link!

This Week's (#367) ICYMI Digest includes links to posts by some incredible trailblazing women in our profession:

👉 Janet Stanton: 'Non-equities: Your Problem Tier?'

👉 Lauren Croft: 'Future implications of in-house growth for firms' 

👉 Sue-Ella Prodonovich: 'Is Business Development More Difficult For Women?'

👉 Lara Quie: 'Eight Secrets of Networking and Business Development Success'

👉 Heather McCullough: 'The 5 Top Law Firm Business Development Trends of 2023'

Lots more - including by some of the men out there - so check it out here (and DM if you want to subscribe)

If you want to know why your law firm needs to be on LinkedIn, look no further than this post

3229 days – on average that’s how long it will take you to make partnership in 2023. And when I say “partnership”, I’m not talking about equity partnership. Last week (15 August 2023), Marlene Gebauer and Greg Lambert interviewed Laura Leopard, founder and CEO of Leopard Solutions, on their ‘Geek in Review‘ podcast. It’s a really interesting chat around law firm partner succession plans (or lack…

This Week's (#366) ICYMI Digest includes links to posts by:

👉 Jordan Furlong: ' 'Disability, Diversity, and Empathy in the Legal Profession'

👉 Eric Fletcher 'Four Steps That Will Increase Revenue' 

👉 Simon P MARSHALL 'Law firms need to grasp the nettle on social mobility' 

👉 Jamie Lennox 'Majority of conveyancing firms reduce fees based on competitors’ prices – study'

👉 Mike Wilkinson - The Value Selling Expert ''What is Value Selling and why do I need it?'

👉 Kim Tasso: '22 tips on being a persuasive writer in professional services' 

👉 Gene Turner: 'Transforming Law Firms: Not Just About Automation' 

And many, many others.

Check it all out here (and DM if you want to subscribe)

This week's edition of Idea Surplus Disorder by Matthew Homann includes an absolutely amazing quote from Roger Martin that EVERY single law firm Managing Partner should have pinned on their wall:

"Since strategy is the act of making distinctive choices that position your organization uniquely to win, by definition a choice the opposite of which is stupid on its face is not a strategy choice.

For example, the opposite of the choice to be customer-centric is to ignore customers entirely, which is stupid on its face. Only a regulated monopoly — like the Department of Motor Vehicles — can ignore its customers entirely and survive. Similarly, either being operationally pathetic or disinvesting in talent is also stupid on its face. The only positive thing that can be said about those choices is that they aren’t stupid. And as such, you can be highly confident that all your consequential competitors will be making that same choice — i.e. to be customer-centric, operationally effective and to invest in their talent."

You need to learn how to differentiate yourself; and as Roger Martin says, being "customer centric", "operationally effective" or "investing in your talent" is only differentiating yourself from firms going out of business.

I have been saying the same thing for years and totally agree with Glenn Reid here:

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“Do you have professional indemnity insurance?”

This isn’t just a box-ticking exercise. In a realm where promises can sometimes outweigh delivery, indemnity insurance separates the professionals from the amateurs. While the risks might seem minimal, consider the potential repercussions of a misplaced tweet or a website mishap. Indemnity insurance offers peace of mind in an unpredictable digital age.

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And not only do I agree, but increasing this will extend to Cyber Insurance!

rws_01

The numbers have been crunched and the results are in: ‘Dynamic Law Firms’ invest considerably more in their business development and marketing activities/departments than static firms are willing to do. According to the latest (8th) iteration of Thomson Reuters Institute’s 2023 Dynamic Law Firms Report, Dynamic Law Firms consistently invest greater sums in their business development and…

This Week's (#365) ICYMI Digest includes links to:

👉 Gene Turner: 'Legal Matter Management: Options for the use of Microsoft 365 and SharePoint'

👉 Sarah Zheng: 'Global Law Firm Retreats From China Ahead of Data Crackdown (1)'

👉 Nick Hilborne: 'Three-quarters of law firms experience drop in demand'

👉 Caterina Cavallaro: 'Positively Legal: Legal Design Can Bring Empathy to Our Work' 

👉 RICHARD KING: ' 'How does a law firm’s business support add value today?' 

👉 Jerome Doraisamy: ''Rate pressure and securing ‘competitive’ quotes'

👉 William Josten:  'Practice Innovations: How law firms can get started with AFAs and subscription pricing models'

And others.

Check it all out here (and DM if you want to subscribe)