Lateral Hires and the “Slam Dunk” Myth
This is an edited extract from the second (and much expanded) edition of Ark’s best-selling report Tackling Partner Underperformance in Law Firms by Nick Jarrett-Kerr, released in April, 2018. It seems logical that both law firm growth and the plugging of a skills and market gap can be met by hiring a partner with […]
Developing Law-Firm Strategy in a Buyer’s Market
Right now, law firms of all sizes in a majority of jurisdictions are facing several serious challenges, including the following: Firm revenue and partner profitability in some of the larger jurisdictions have flattened or are steadily declining; Clients are pressing firms for lower fees and are insourcing growing numbers of tasks; Lower-cost alternative-service providers are […]
Business Development: An Introduction to the 2-4-8 Model, Revenue Gaps, and the Relationship Bell Curve
The 2-4-8 Model This model compares revenue against time allocation, helping us to make informed decisions around clients, productivity and sustainability. Identify each of your clients in descending order by revenue ($) or profit margin (%). Place each client into the grid below, inserting your highest value client at number one and so on. You […]
The Fading Power of Niches
It has often been stated that only two broad strategic directions are available to law firms, summed up in the often quoted platitude “Get Big or Go Niche”. Over the last few decades, many boutique firms have successfully followed a niche direction by doubling down on particular areas of focus and creating depth in sectors […]
Remodelling Change Projects
A couple of years ago, I proposed a three-stage programme designed to revive stalled strategic projects – repainting the vision, remodelling the project and changing the project team or team leader. The remodelling (second) stage of that programme suggested that if a project has stalled or remained uncompleted, it sometimes helps to modify the initiative […]
Three ways to revive difficult strategic projects
Many law firms of a reasonable size may well have conducted some form of strategy review within the last five to ten years. This makes many partners of law firms and indeed their leaders somewhat resistant to further reviews, especially if much of the previous strategy remains unfulfilled or in cases where the more intractable […]
Prioritising Initiatives – Avoiding the Seven Deadly Sins
I have often noticed that firms do not always seem to prioritise initiatives sufficiently carefully. My experience is that one or more of the following seven things get in the way of proper planning and implementation: He (or she) who shouts loudest for resources will often get them; Prioritisation is decided on positions of power […]
Business Development: Strategic Client Relationship Management
Remember the old adage “The Client is King”? Put more baldly, the reason your business remains in existence is because you have clients. To lose sight of this carries the risk of losing clients. You know that the world you operate in is highly competitive and aggressive. You also know clients are (mostly) sophisticated buyers […]
Bigger vs Better: Should your firm merge?
First, see if it can answer “yes” to one essential question. So law firm mergers are back in the news again, to the continued fascination of the legal press. For every combination that’s completed and announced, you can count on several others bubbling under in conversations within executive committees and at luncheon gatherings of senior […]
In Successful Law Firms, Actions Speak Louder than Plans
“Doing” wins out over “Strategizing” Studies predictably show that firms with a plan do better than firms without a plan. As a managing partner, you need to determine whether your firm actually has a plan or not. Here is a test that will tell you if you do – Choose a member of your firm […]