Page 31 - MASTER COPY LEADERS BOOK 9editedJKK (24)_Neat
P. 31
Leaders in Legal Business
Relational capital: This includes everything that is market-facing, such as:
– Increasing business development returns;
– Managing key client relationships;
– Developing referral sources;
– Brand building and profile raising; and
– External communications.
Service platform: This area covers everything having to do with service delivery, such as:
– Developing and growing the firm’s portfolio of services;
– Pricing, alternative fee arrangements, and pricing management;
– Delivery processes such as legal project management and process mapping;
– Knowledge, intellectual property, and innovation development; and
– Sourcing, flexible working, and outsourcing of legal work.
Human capital: This area covers a number of topics related to talent (after all, law firms are, first and foremost,
people businesses), such as:
– Winning the war on talent;
– Recruiting the best partners, business managers, and fee earners;
– Leadership development and assessments;
– Diversity development;
– Learning, professional development, and training;
– Talent management and human resources; and
– Internal communications.
Organization: This covers everything around the organization that supports the firm’s client work and includes:
– Organizational design, structure, and governance;
– Incentives and remuneration of partners and senior managers;
– Partnership structure;
– Culture, values, and behaviors;
– Management system; and
– Succession planning.
Operations, finance, and risk: These cover all of the back-office functions, such as:
– Information technology;
– Facilities management;
– Risk management;
– Financial management;
– Administration; and
– Sourcing and outsourcing of non-core business functions.
The above can serve merely as examples of consulting areas. Each area will have hot topics, trends, and
themes and will differ somewhat from country to country. For example, a country with a closed legal market that
is opening up to international firms will see a flurry of market entry, strategic, and merger advice; in countries
with mixed ethnicities, law firms seek consulting in relation to talent, diversity, social mobility, and economic
empowerment.
No matter what the subject matter area, there often are more subtle topics to be addressed, such as:
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Relational capital: This includes everything that is market-facing, such as:
– Increasing business development returns;
– Managing key client relationships;
– Developing referral sources;
– Brand building and profile raising; and
– External communications.
Service platform: This area covers everything having to do with service delivery, such as:
– Developing and growing the firm’s portfolio of services;
– Pricing, alternative fee arrangements, and pricing management;
– Delivery processes such as legal project management and process mapping;
– Knowledge, intellectual property, and innovation development; and
– Sourcing, flexible working, and outsourcing of legal work.
Human capital: This area covers a number of topics related to talent (after all, law firms are, first and foremost,
people businesses), such as:
– Winning the war on talent;
– Recruiting the best partners, business managers, and fee earners;
– Leadership development and assessments;
– Diversity development;
– Learning, professional development, and training;
– Talent management and human resources; and
– Internal communications.
Organization: This covers everything around the organization that supports the firm’s client work and includes:
– Organizational design, structure, and governance;
– Incentives and remuneration of partners and senior managers;
– Partnership structure;
– Culture, values, and behaviors;
– Management system; and
– Succession planning.
Operations, finance, and risk: These cover all of the back-office functions, such as:
– Information technology;
– Facilities management;
– Risk management;
– Financial management;
– Administration; and
– Sourcing and outsourcing of non-core business functions.
The above can serve merely as examples of consulting areas. Each area will have hot topics, trends, and
themes and will differ somewhat from country to country. For example, a country with a closed legal market that
is opening up to international firms will see a flurry of market entry, strategic, and merger advice; in countries
with mixed ethnicities, law firms seek consulting in relation to talent, diversity, social mobility, and economic
empowerment.
No matter what the subject matter area, there often are more subtle topics to be addressed, such as:
24
