Accelerating Trends in Law Firms

Peter Zeughauser

Book

Accelerating Trends in Law Firms

Peter Zeughauser

Published: 2021
Pages: 256

eBook: 9781787424241

This book will provide valuable insights and guidance on the current key trends in law firms and how best to embrace and harness them for continued success. It brings together world-renowned, skilled experts with different perspectives on the key challenges and opportunities that have arisen in the last few years.

Cover	Cover 1
Title page	1
Copyright information	2
Table of contents	3
Preface	5
How to revisit your strategic plan in the wake of the pandemic	7
1. Introduction	7
3. Articulating a shared vision	10
5. Collecting and assessing data about the firm’s performance	12
6. Interview takeaways	13
8. Forming a planning team	13
9. Convening planning team meetings	14
10.1 First meeting	14
10.2 Second meeting	15
(a) Articulating the draft vision statement	17
(b) Goals, strategies and action items	19
(d) Talent management	21
(e) Client management	22
10.4 Formulating goals, strategies and action items	23
11. Final drafting	24
13. Notes on buy-in and use of the plan	25
14. A few words about culture and values	25
15. A closing note	25
Talent management trends in post-pandemic law firms	27
1. Well-being	28
1.1 Staying connected	29
1.2 Fighting burnout	30
2. Flexible schedules and time off	33
2.1 Supporting parents who rely on e-learning or who lack childcare	35
2.2 Effective meetings – remote and otherwise in a remote world	36
and across distances	37
3.2 Lateral partners	39
it be used for recruiting attorneys?	41
4. Integration and onboarding	42
5. Development and training shifts to virtual	43
6. Transparency is the new normal	45
7. Changing staffing models: professional staff as trained business partners to attorneys	46
8. Conclusion	47
How firms can successfully build culture remotely	49
1. Introduction: navigating culture in unprecedented times	49
1.1 The importance of culture in law firms	51
1.2 Challenges to maintaining culture presented by remote work	52
1.3 Factors promoting success in maintaining culture remotely	53
COVID-19 and beyond	54
2. Leadership and effective communication	55
2.1 Communication	56
(a) Transparency and consistency	56
(b) Frequency	57
(c) Accessibility	57
(d) Responsiveness	59
2.2 Empathy and action	59
(a) Genuine empathy	59
(b) Meaningful, concrete action	60
2.3 Effective management practices	61
(a) Leadership at multiple levels	61
(b) Leadership from partners	61
(c) Management training	62
3. Talent development programmes and initiatives	62
3.1 Formal talent development offerings	63
3.2 A strong feedback culture both up and down the chain	63
(a) Performance reviews	64
(c) Up-the-chain feedback	65
3.3 Mentoring relationships	66
3.4 Career advising and alumni support	67
3.5 Skills development	67
(a) Pro bono work	68
(b) Business development training	68
3.6 Role-specific talent development	69
(a) Summer associates	69
(b) Laterals	70
(c) Associates	70
3.7 Salary and bonus consideration	71
4. Recruiting and onboarding in a remote environment	73
4.1 Strategic lateral hiring	73
4.2 Shift in recruiting and hiring timelines	75
(a) Summer associate recruiting	75
(b) Lateral recruiting	75
4.3 Shift to video-based communication	76
(a) Personal connections enabled by video	76
(b) Creative use of video technology	76
5. Relationships, engagement and collegiality	77
5.1 Leveraging technology to advance engagement and collegiality	78
5.2 Embracing innovation	79
(a) Video communication	80
(b) Adoption of new communication channels	80
5.3 Personal connection	81
6. Diversity and inclusion	82
6.1 Firm-wide programmes	83
6.2 Work allocation and professional development	83
6.3 Countering bias in hiring practices	84
7. Wellness and work–life balance	86
7.1 Increased awareness at the leadership level	87
7.2 Embrace of changing norms	88
7.3 Increased resources and support	88
8. Conclusion: applying the lessons of 2020 to the future of law firm culture	89
8.1 Proactive leadership	89
8.2 Long-term planning for talent development	91
8.3 Thoughtful approach to return-to-work questions	92
(a) Implementing new technologies	93
(b) Focusing on equity in hybrid environments	94
(c) Fostering ongoing connection	94
8.4 Amplifying D&I	95
8.5 Emphasising wellness	96
8.6 Building on successes from 2020	97
The accelerated pursuit of racial equity in law firms	99
1. Introduction	99
2. Background: two phases of the pandemic	99
3. Openly confronting race and racism3	100
4. Embracing collaboration and coalition-building	102
4.1 The belonging project	102
4.2 Law Firm Antiracism Alliance	103
4.3 Thrive Scholars Law Track	103
5. Empowering and elevating DEI professionals	104
6. Engaging and equipping inclusive leaders	105
6.1 DEI as a leadership priority	106
6.2 Developing inclusive leaders at all levels of the firm	107
(a) Inclusive leadership defined	107
(b) Middle management: an area of opportunity	108
7. Ensuring accountability through internal and external stakeholders	110
7.2 Client pressures on outside counsel firms will increase	110
8. Conclusion	112
Building client relationships in a hybrid world	113
1. Introduction	113
1.1 It all starts with strategy	113
2. People are going to remain, at least partially, virtual	114
2.1 Building and maintaining relationships	115
2.2 Widening networks	116
2.3 Matching virtual presence to offline impression	117
2.4 Pitching and winning work	118
2.5 Getting back to face to face	119
3. Digitisation of everything	119
3.1 The online client experience	120
3.2 Platforms for everyday use	120
3.3 Channels	121
3.4 Digitising events	121
(a) Forethought with formats	122
(b) Making it successful	123
(c) Hybrid events	124
3.5 Digital touch points	124
3.6 Digital acceleration	125
of the client experience	125
4.1 Greater expectations in relation to issues client care about	126
4.2 Recognising the opportunity	126
4.3 Empathy	127
4.4 The value of asking what clients think	127
4.5 Two-way engagement	128
5. Data and more data	129
5.2 Real-time feedback	130
5.3 Creating the ‘single view of the client’	131
6. Travel	132
7. What does the ESG agenda mean for business development?	133
7.1 To take a position?	134
8. Conclusion	134
firm activism	137
1. Developing business and relationships remotely	137
1.1 Discerning client alerts	138
1.2 Websites	138
1.3 Results and references	138
1.4 Reach out, but wisely	139
1.5 Online events	139
1.6 Feedback	139
2. Remote work	140
3. Improved billing hygiene	141
4. Diversity and inclusion	142
4.1 Supporting equality initiatives	143
4.2 Expanding the pipeline	143
4.3 Self-critical analysis	144
5. Law firm activism	145
6. Towards value-based billing	145
7. The (deserved) staying power of Big Law	148
our evolving commitment to serving others	151
1. Introduction	151
during the pandemic	152
2.1 Transformation through technology	152
2.2 Increased interest in brief services	156
2.3 Increased collaboration	157
(a) Teaming with our corporate clients	158
(b) Furthering our diversity and inclusion efforts	160
3. Pro bono is good business – now, more than ever	162
3.1 Pro bono gives us opportunities to connect	162
3.2 Pro bono provides professional development opportunities	163
3.3 Pro bono promotes wellness	163
social and governance (ESG) strategy	165
4. Adapting pro bono to an increasingly global profession	166
4.1 New Perimeter	167
4.2 DLA Piper’s global pro bono team	168
5. Looking to the future	169
How firms are leveraging technology and data to drive strategy, efficiency and client relationships	171
1. Introduction	171
2. Technology stands in for the office	172
2.1 Current state	172
2.2 What’s accelerating	172
3. Legal ops metrics and dashboards	173
3.1 Current state	173
3.2 What’s accelerating	173
4. Data-driven outside counsel selection	175
4.1 Current state	175
4.2 What’s accelerating	175
5. Pricing and resourcing analysis	176
5.1 Current state	176
5.2 What’s accelerating	176
6. Automated time entry	177
6.1 Current state	177
7. Billing analysis	178
7.1 Current state	178
7.2 What’s accelerating	178
8. Experience and relationship analytics	179
8.1 Current state	179
8.2 What’s accelerating	179
9. Practice workflow, automation and collaboration	180
9.1 Current state	180
9.2 What’s accelerating	181
10. Managing contract lifecycles	182
10.1 Current state	182
10.2 What’s accelerating	182
11. Client solutions and no-code platforms	182
11.1 Current state	182
11.2 What’s accelerating	183
12. Chatbots and other natural interfaces	183
12.1 Current state	183
12.2 What’s accelerating	183
13. Conclusion	184
and decision making	185
1. Introduction	185
2. COVID-19’s financial impact	186
2.1 Law firm financial performance in 2020	186
2.2 Legal services trade balances	188
3. Innovation in crises	190
4. Decision-making quality	193
4.1 Lack of rich cues	193
4.2 Reduced creativity	196
6. Conclusion	199
Law firm real estate: emerging considerations in a post-COVID-19 environment	201
1. Responses in the early days of COVID-19	201
2. Quantifying the day-officing phenomenon	204
3. A broader view	205
4. Health as a real estate consideration	207
5. Implementing real estate strategies in a post-COVID-19 environment	209
5.1 Space disposition	209
5.2 Lease restructuring	210
5.3 Relocation	211
5.4 Do nothing	212
6. Conclusion	213
Effective financial management post-pandemic	215
1. Introduction	215
2. Creating and maintaining a healthy and safe work environment	216
3. Managing and optimising cash flow	218
4. Making lateral investments and identifying new opportunities for revenue growth	220
5. Focus on expense management, administrative and financial controls, and staffing, structure and work processes	222
6. Key takeaways	225
and the workforce	227
1. A wicked problem and a social mess	227
1.1 It is no surprise the pandemic has had a transformative impact on how we lead our lives at work and at home	228
1.2 Our capacity to adapt has taken on a new dimension as the pandemic has upended professional, social and personal norms	229
(a) Judgement is a lawyer’s superpower, but how is it best deployed in solving wicked problems and social messes?	229
(b) Reacting has become our norm	230
(c) Our self-imposed high standards as lawyers increase our stress and anxiety levels	231
a happy and healthy human being: social connection	233
(a) The consequences	233
2. Health and well-being issues related to remote working	234
an organisation’s human connections	234
for well-being and productivity at work	235
(a) Being connected but feeling isolated contributes to deterioration in social relationships	235
(b) Being connected but feeling isolated can lead to poor health	236
(c) Chronic stress leads to poor, long-term health outcomes	236
(d) The pandemic has upended routines that can manage stress effectively	237
3. We’re all in the same storm, but we’re not all in the same boat	238
3.1 While our external circumstances can create an ‘us and them’ divide …	238
3.2 … it is our internal capacities that can help us focus on the opportunities that unite us rather than the problems that divide us	239
4. The workforce that leaves to work remotely is not the same workforce that returns post-pandemic	240
every employee?	242
6. Beyond the pandemic	244
6.1 Practices for individuals	245
(a) Build your foundations for overall health and well-being	245
(b) Seek support for change	246
(c) Start with the key foundation for your change: awareness	247
(d) Create boundaries for your self-care	247
(e) Take one, almost-impossibly-small, next step	248
6.2 Practices for organisations and leaders	248
(a) As a leader, be vulnerable!	248
(b) Affirm the individuals in your team	249
(c) Express your gratitude	250
7. Closing thoughts	250
About the authors	251

Sara Andrews
Assistant director, New Perimeter, Senior international pro bono counsel, DLA Piper
[email protected]

Sara Andrews helps lead the strategic direction of New Perimeter, DLA Piper’s non- profit affiliate that provides longterm pro bono legal assistance in underserved regions around the world. She initiates, develops and contributes to New Perimeter projects and manages global teams of DLA Piper lawyers. Sara develops long- term partnerships with international NGOs, government agencies and other joint venture partners. She has led projects focused on legal education, law reform, access to justice, women’s rights and economic development throughout Africa, Asia, the Balkans and Latin America. Before joining New Perimeter full- time, Sara practised in DLA Piper’s litigation group. Sara received her BA, magna cum laude, from Amherst College and her JD from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law.

Naomi Beard Nelson
Founder and CEO, Naomi Beard & Associates
[email protected]

Naomi Beard Nelson is the founder and CEO of Naomi Beard & Associates, Inc., a full- service law firm consultancy that has, for over 15 years, partnered with leading law firms across all markets to enable them to attract, develop and retain top talent. She regularly advises firms on leadership development, performance management, talent development framework design, compensation systems, mentoring programmes and engagement initiatives. Through bespoke executive coaching and career transition services, Naomi and her team help firms and their people optimise success. She and her team also perform a range of organisation- wide assessments, including 360° reviews, upward reviews and performance evaluations.
Before founding NB&A, Naomi practised law for 10 years in the US offices of two global law firms. She is a formally trained and credentialled executive coach, a frequent presenter at law firm and professional association events, and a contributor to a variety of
industry publications.

Jennifer Bluestein
Chief talent officer, Perkins Coie LLP
[email protected]

A strategic talent development leader, Jennifer Bluestein, chief talent officer, is responsible for all talent strategy and human resources functions at Perkins Coie, including lawyer and staff recruitment, development, compensation and benefits. Prior to joining Perkins Coie, Jennifer, a former employment lawyer, spent more than 15 years in professional development at Greenberg Traurig and Baker & McKenzie and has a law degree from Pritzker Northwestern University School of Law.
Jennifer has authored two books for PLI on attorney development, An Associate’s First Year: A Guide to Thriving at a Law Firm in 2018 and Stepping It Up: A Guide for Mid- Level Associates in 2020.

Matt Brainard
Senior managing director, Savills
[email protected]

For two decades, Matt Brainard has specialised in representing law firms and corporate tenants on a local, national and global basis. He works closely with his clients helping them define what their future workspace and lease structure looks like and how this will enable their business to thrive. As a member of the Legal Tenant Practice Group and Technology Practice Group, Matt has negotiated large and complex commercial real estate transactions allotting more than five million square feet on behalf of legal, tech, media and professional services companies. Matt and his team deliver a full scope of integrated services including site search and selection, occupancy cost reductions, capital containment, lease and sale negotiations, transaction management, financial modelling, workplace strategy, project management, critical technology facilities, lease administration, operating expense audits and multilocation portfolio advisory.

David Cunningham
Chief innovation officer, Reed Smith
[email protected]

David Cunningham is the chief innovation officer of global firm Reed Smith. He guides the firm in thoughtful review of modern legal service delivery models, working to create a firm that is driven by the value it can measure and provide to its clients and employees. David is also the founder Legal Metrics, a data- driven ‘legal ops’ and diversity metrics initiative. He has engaged over a hundred legal departments and law firms to improve how legal ops metrics are calculated and benchmarked. He was also deeply involved with the Corporate Legal Operations Consortium (CLOC) in its earliest days and has spoken on the topic of legal ops metrics at all the CLOC US Institute events. David was previously the chief information officer of Winston & Strawn, where he was responsible for creating and sustaining a competitive edge with technology, data and improved processes. His role included leadership for IT, risk management, information governance, innovation, data analytics, research, project management and one of the industry’s largest e-discovery/ managed services teams. David was previously a managing director of Hildebrandt Baker Robbins (now HBR Consulting) for the technology strategy and risk practices. Over 20 years, he worked with 200 US and UK/ European firms.

Lisa Dewey
Pro bono partner and director, New Perimeter, DLA Piper
[email protected]

As DLA Piper’s full- time pro bono partner, Lisa Dewey cultivates DLA Piper’s strategic thinking on pro bono, including the vision for DLA Piper’s US pro bono programme. Lisa leads the firm’s US pro bono practice, including working with firm corporate clients to develop and deliver collaborative pro bono projects. Additionally, Lisa serves as the director for New Perimeter, DLA Piper’s global pro bono initiative dedicated to providing long- term pro bono legal assistance in underserved regions around the world to support access to justice, social and economic development, sound legal institutions, and women’s advancement.
Lisa teaches and frequently lectures on access to justice and pro bono. Her experience includes representing clients in death penalty, family law and asylum matters, as well as corporations and individuals in criminal investigations and federal jury trials. Lisa received her JD, summa cum laude, from American University’s Washington College of Law.

Alex Dimitrief
Partner, Zeughauser Group
[email protected]

Alex Dimitrief is a partner at Zeughauser Group. He is also a lecturer on law at Harvard Law School, where he teaches a new class on “The Corporation as a Citizen”, and a distinguished adjunct professor at New York Law School, where he teaches on corporations. Alex was the president and CEO of General Electric’s Global Growth Organization in 2018– 2019 and previously served as the general counsel of GE Energy, GE Capital and then GE. Before joining GE in 2007, he was a trial lawyer at Kirkland & Ellis LLP for 20 years.

Thomas P Fitzgerald
Chairman, Winston & Strawn
[email protected]

Thomas P Fitzgerald currently serves as the firm’s chairman and leads its Executive Committee. He has led the firm since 2006, and during his tenure the firm opened 10 additional offices on three continents and significantly expanded its practice offerings. Tom coordinates the firm’s acquisition of new talent, leads client development and feedback initiatives, and manages the firm’s operations across the world.

Anne Geraghty Helms
Director & counsel, US pro bono programmes, DLA Piper
[email protected]

Anne Geraghty Helms is responsible for helping to develop, lead and manage DLA Piper’s pro bono programme in the United States. Working collaboratively with the legal aid community, her role is to engage every DLA Piper lawyer in the United States, often in partnership with firm clients, in meaningful opportunities to give back through legal pro bono. Anne concentrates her own practice on juvenile and criminal justice issues but also has worked on a range of initiatives that touch on pro bono and access to justice – helping to establish legal clinics in domestic violence and landlord– tenant court, presenting at law schools in Mexico City on pro bono and juvenile justice as part of the firm’s New Perimeter project focused on helping to strengthen pro bono culture in Mexico, and co- drafting a report for the Legal Services Corporation’s Pro bono Task Force. Anne received her JD, magna cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center.

Eric Ho
Founder and director, Health for Success
[email protected]

Eric Ho has been a lawyer for over 20 years. He trained as an M&A lawyer and was group head of legal for Anglo American plc’s commodity trading business. He is also a leadership health coach, one of a small handful of US National Board- certified Health and Wellness Coaches based in the UK (NBC- HWC), an ADAPT- Certified Functional Health Coach (A- CFHC), and an ambassador of the UK Health Coaches Association.
Eric founded Health for Success to help high- performing individuals and teams rediscover authentic success: success without the overwhelm, burnout, and poor physical and mental health. His work focuses on leadership and the ways in which health, happiness and productivity overlap. He collaborates with licensed health practitioners globally, focusing on cognitive decline, to support patients achieve their health goals in a lasting and sustainable way. Eric loves using his multi- lingual, multi- cultural background to help professionals use health as a foundation to be their best.

Michelle Holford
Director of business development, Slaughter and May
[email protected]

Michelle Holford is currently the director of business development at Slaughter and May, leading a multi- discipline team to help grow, develop and support the firm’s client relationships. An experienced marketing and business development leader, she has over 20 years’ experience across a range of professional services sectors including legal, corporate finance and private equity. Prior to joining Slaughter and May in 2018, Michelle was head of client solutions at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, where she was responsible for the marketing the firm’s services on a global basis. Before Freshfields she was a deal originator at corporate finance firm Livingstone Partners (now Arrowpoint Advisory, part of Rothschild), responsible for generating new clients and opportunities for the firm.

Randall Kiser
Principal analyst, DecisionSet®
[email protected]

Randall Kiser is a principal analyst at DecisionSet®, a professional development and decision services firm. He is recognised as “the pre-eminent scholar of the US legal profession” and is also regarded as “a brilliant scholar and legal consultant”, “the leading scholar in attorney decision processes” and “an internationally acclaimed researcher and consultant on legal decision making and trial risk assessments”. Randall is the author of four books on law firm and attorney performance. He has taught law school courses at major universities and served as a scholar- in- residence at the Indiana University Maurer School of Law. His work has been featured in media ranging from The New York Times to the Harvard Negotiation Law Review. Randall received his law degree in 1978 from the University of California at Berkeley and was awarded his undergraduate degree with highest honours in 1975 from the University of California at Davis.

Tiffani G Lee
Partner, Holland & Knight LLP
[email protected]

Tiffani G Lee is a partner in the South Florida Litigation Group of Holland & Knight in Miami. Since 2008, Tiffani has served as the firm’s diversity partner. As diversity partner, she leads the firmwide Diversity Council, serves on the Practice and Operations Committee (the firm’s highest governance body), and serves on the firm’s Partner Compensation Committee.
Tiffani is recognised nationally for her DEI work and frequently speaks and writes on these issues. After the killing of George Floyd, Tiffani authored a Law360 article titled “Lawyers Must Address Racial Injustice with Radical Candor”. In the article, Tiffani wrote about the necessity of lawyers and law firms addressing racial injustice and how, as guardians of justice, lawyers have an obligation to work for the greater good.

Tiffany Winne
Executive managing director and partner, Stream Realty Partners
[email protected]

Tiffany Winne is an executive managing director and partner at Stream Realty Partners, where she leads the strategic direction and operations of the Arizona office. Tiffany’s primary responsibilities include leading Stream’s acquisition, development, leasing and property management services. Throughout her two- decade real estate career Tiffany has been devoted to representing commercial tenants with a particular focus on the legal sector, creating solutions to enhance opportunity and mitigate risk for law firms.
Tiffany was declared one of the top 50 most influential women in commercial real estate nationwide on the 2017 Women of Influence list by the Real Estate Forum. She has been quoted in diverse publications including Business Week, Phoenix Business Journal, Chicago Tribune, Crain’s Chicago Business, Commercial Property News, Illinois Real Estate Journal and Real Estate Forum. Additionally, Tiffany serves as a community board member of the Translational Genomics Research Institute.

Peter Zeughauser
Chair, Zeughauser Group
[email protected]

Peter Zeughauser is the chair of Zeughauser Group, a leading international law firm consultancy. He is a trusted adviser to the leadership of market leading global, international, national, regional and boutique law firms on the challenges and opportunities they face as a result of increasing competition for sought- after high- performing talent, consolidation, segmentation and globalisation of the market for legal services. He has served as an adviser on the industry’s most consequential and precedent setting mergers and acquisitions and regularly advises firms on leadership enhancement, improved financial performance, governance, succession planning, partnership structure and compensation systems. Peter is the author of Lawyers are from Mercury, Clients are From Pluto (ClientFocus Press, 1998). He served as a contributing editor to The American Lawyer Magazine for 20 years. Before consulting, Peter served as senior vice president and general counsel of the Irvine Company for over a decade until 1996. He served as chair of the Corporate Counsel Association in 1991 and as an adjunct professor of law at University of California – Irvine School of Law in 2021.

Add to favourites Request a trial

Accelerating Trends in Law Firms

Table of Contents

Practical, topical titles for international legal and business professionals

Search options:

Accelerating Trends in Law Firms

Table of Contents

Practical, topical titles for international legal and business professionals