Page 19 - 2019 - Leaders in Legal Business (n)
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Furthermore, these services naturally cross-pollinated: Technology helped with networking, which
aided marketing and abetted consulting, which intersected with process improvement, and so forth.
This is why we refer to this as an ecosystem: a diversified, interconnected array of
professional business support systems for legal services providers. To use the classic definition by
James F. Moore, a business ecosystem is “an economic community, supported by a foundation of
interacting organizations and individuals … [that] produces goods and services of value to
customers, who are themselves members of the ecosystem … [along with] suppliers, lead
producers, competitors, and other stakeholders.”
In this market, the customers are lawyers and law firms. So, who are the members of the
“community” — the suppliers of value in the modern legal ecosystem? As the legal market
generally and the legal profession in particular undergo rapid and extensive change, what does the
future hold for all these suppliers? Here are my thoughts on seven select members of the present
legal support ecosystem, and how each will evolve in the years to come.
Outside Consultants
Third-party consultants in the legal market are a relatively recent development, and for the
last couple of decades of the 20th century, strategic consulting was the dominant offering. Law
firms, at that time managed almost exclusively by lawyers, needed expert guidance on growth
strategies, compensation systems, and business development efforts. Today, however, law firm
management and even leadership have become much more professionalized, and a great deal of
traditional strategic and tactical consulting capacity has been brought in-house. There is still a role
for strategic consulting; law firms require big-picture perspectives and authoritative analyses of
their businesses compared with market leaders. As many law firms enter a period of generational
transition amid market upheaval, however, strategic consulting’s focus has shifted from merely
growing firms’ annual profits to overseeing fundamental reconsiderations of firms’ purpose,
markets, clients, and services.
At the same time, a wealth of other consulting opportunities is opening up in the law firm
world. As law firms become more sophisticated, multi-dimensional businesses, they will require
assistance from increasingly specialized advisers. In addition to the subjects explored elsewhere
in this chapter (sales and marketing, professional development, technology, and process
improvement), outside consultants will be called upon to help law firms improve the diversity of
their personnel, price their services both predictably and profitably, develop new product and
service lines, and train their future leaders. Even as law firms continue to insource such expertise
with full-time staff members, there should still be plenty of opportunities for outside consultants
to help law firms achieve their strategic and tactical goals.
Law Firm Networks
Founded in the pre-globalization era, law firm networks offered their members cross-
border connections, perspectives, and business development opportunities otherwise available
only to a small handful of international law firms. Today, however, as global mergers and
expansions have become more common, these networks must reexamine their purpose and grow
their value beyond the merely cross-jurisdictional. This is especially the case given the increasing
number of such networks and the rise of unexpected competition from sources such as Dentons
LLP, which is aggressively expanding its own international referral network.
4
aided marketing and abetted consulting, which intersected with process improvement, and so forth.
This is why we refer to this as an ecosystem: a diversified, interconnected array of
professional business support systems for legal services providers. To use the classic definition by
James F. Moore, a business ecosystem is “an economic community, supported by a foundation of
interacting organizations and individuals … [that] produces goods and services of value to
customers, who are themselves members of the ecosystem … [along with] suppliers, lead
producers, competitors, and other stakeholders.”
In this market, the customers are lawyers and law firms. So, who are the members of the
“community” — the suppliers of value in the modern legal ecosystem? As the legal market
generally and the legal profession in particular undergo rapid and extensive change, what does the
future hold for all these suppliers? Here are my thoughts on seven select members of the present
legal support ecosystem, and how each will evolve in the years to come.
Outside Consultants
Third-party consultants in the legal market are a relatively recent development, and for the
last couple of decades of the 20th century, strategic consulting was the dominant offering. Law
firms, at that time managed almost exclusively by lawyers, needed expert guidance on growth
strategies, compensation systems, and business development efforts. Today, however, law firm
management and even leadership have become much more professionalized, and a great deal of
traditional strategic and tactical consulting capacity has been brought in-house. There is still a role
for strategic consulting; law firms require big-picture perspectives and authoritative analyses of
their businesses compared with market leaders. As many law firms enter a period of generational
transition amid market upheaval, however, strategic consulting’s focus has shifted from merely
growing firms’ annual profits to overseeing fundamental reconsiderations of firms’ purpose,
markets, clients, and services.
At the same time, a wealth of other consulting opportunities is opening up in the law firm
world. As law firms become more sophisticated, multi-dimensional businesses, they will require
assistance from increasingly specialized advisers. In addition to the subjects explored elsewhere
in this chapter (sales and marketing, professional development, technology, and process
improvement), outside consultants will be called upon to help law firms improve the diversity of
their personnel, price their services both predictably and profitably, develop new product and
service lines, and train their future leaders. Even as law firms continue to insource such expertise
with full-time staff members, there should still be plenty of opportunities for outside consultants
to help law firms achieve their strategic and tactical goals.
Law Firm Networks
Founded in the pre-globalization era, law firm networks offered their members cross-
border connections, perspectives, and business development opportunities otherwise available
only to a small handful of international law firms. Today, however, as global mergers and
expansions have become more common, these networks must reexamine their purpose and grow
their value beyond the merely cross-jurisdictional. This is especially the case given the increasing
number of such networks and the rise of unexpected competition from sources such as Dentons
LLP, which is aggressively expanding its own international referral network.
4
