Page 18 - Legal Leaders 2018 Master Copy - 9
P. 18
Why did this happen so fast? Primarily, because law practice is hard; it takes an
enormous amount of attention and effort just to serve clients well. Lawyers needed and
eventually welcomed all the help they could get in doing everything else, like running their
businesses. The value these services provided to lawyers was immediate and self-evident, which
accelerated their adoption. 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
4
enormous amount of attention and effort just to serve clients well. Lawyers needed and
eventually welcomed all the help they could get in doing everything else, like running their
businesses. The value these services provided to lawyers was immediate and self-evident, which
accelerated their adoption. 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
4
