Law Strategy Transforming Practices Together Products and Services
Contents Preparing today’s law firm for an uncertain future • • • • • • • • •
The undiscovered country A great place to start Identifying priorities Strategic objective setting Putting a plan in place Actions speak louder than words Methods for managing performance Maintaining relevance Investing in talent
3 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
The undiscovered country – a journey for today’s law firm preparing for the future
The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in seeing with new eyes. Marcel Proust New eyes come with no preconceived images, have explored different horizons, take a view point not mired in tradition and bound by respect, they focus sharply encompassing the whole landscape as much as points of detail, they are sensitive to potential dangers but also alive to possibilities and opportunities.
Today, in the legal services market, the new set of eyes is Law Strategy
A great place to start for today’s law firm preparing for the future 1.
Knowing where to start – Knowing how to get to where you want to be, requires that you know where you are starting from. The challenge is to understand where you stand relative to key factors that influence progress towards strategic goals – factors such as technology, regulation, customer practices, but most importantly other business practices of competitor law firms. This knowledge requires external impartial perspective. Law firms are renowned for not sharing information on strategy or performance with competitors - this makes commercial sense but assessment of how healthy your firm is or how well it is positioned extremely difficult. www.lawstrategy.com/survey
`Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?'
`That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,' said the Cat. `I don't much care where--' said Alice. `Then it doesn't matter which way you go,' said the Cat.
The LS Survey •
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Features – Tracks the 10 key factors that influence future success – Supplements traditional internal measures of success – Provides data for strategy development and planning – Prompts qualitative and quantitative thinking and assessment of current state versus desired state Benefits – Allows benchmarking against other law firms – Offers the ability to analyse by size or geography – Stimulates new leadership thinking – Encourages questioning of the status quo – Provides a catalyst for positive change
Identifying priorities for today’s law firm preparing for the future 2.
Identifying change priorities Expecting to secure the future of your firm, in the face of complex changes in the profession and practice of law, while not making significant changes in the way you operate is... insane. Senior Partners need to assess which areas of their business need to be addressed and what the implications might be of changes in one area might be on another including operations, culture, structures and relationships how useful would it be to know exactly what function, structure, process or team needs improving as a priority and what changes will have the most significant impact on results. www.lawstrategy.com/diagnostic
The LS Diagnostic •
Features – Tracks the 10 key factors that influence future success – Supplements traditional internal measures of success – Provides data for strategy development and planning – Prompts qualitative and quantitative thinking and assessment of current state versus desired state
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Benefits – Allows benchmarking against other law firms – Offers the ability to analyse by size or geography – Stimulates new leadership thinking – Encourages questioning of the status quo – Provides a catalyst for positive change
Strategic objective setting for today’s law firm preparing for the future 3.
Making tough long term decisions Determining where you want to take your firm, weighing up the complex factors that will guarantee success, making long-term strategic decisions in a fast moving and constantly changing business environment, finding your own unique direction requires perspective, boldness.... The rewards can be out of this world www.lawstrategy.com/Strategy
LS Supporting Strategy Development •
Features – Tracks the 10 key factors that influence future success – Supplements traditional internal measures of success – Provides data for strategy development and planning – Prompts qualitative and quantitative thinking and assessment of current state versus desired state
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Benefits – Allows benchmarking against other law firms – Offers the ability to analyse by size or geography – Stimulates new leadership thinking – Encourages questioning of the status quo – Provides a catalyst for positive change
Putting a plan in place for today’s law firm preparing for the future 4.
Creating a blueprint for success Most law firms have a business plan yet very few partners or members of staff are truly inspired by it. As a result few choose to make the business plan a central focus to how they approach each day. Even fewer understand the bigger picture and the importance of working effectively as an organisation. Creating a living meaningful plan than inspires partners and staff with a sense of purpose and pride requires.... www.lawstrategy.com/planning
The LS Business Planning Framework • Features – – – –
Tracks the 10 key factors that influence future success Supplements traditional internal measures of success Provides data for strategy development and planning Prompts qualitative and quantitative thinking and assessment of current state versus desired state
• Benefits – – – – –
Allows benchmarking against other law firms Offers the ability to analyse by size or geography Stimulates new leadership thinking Encourages questioning of the status quo Provides a catalyst for positive change
It’s true, actions speak louder than words for today’s law firm preparing for the future 5.
Making the business plan live and steering the firm to success Business plans are time consuming in their construction, meaningless in their existence, fail totally in their communication, have little influence on the way the business changes to align with vision or strategic goals, inspire little adherence by even those who have created them, are referred to infrequently at best and rarely correspond to the way the business performs. Yet business planning is one of the few truly management centred activities that justify leaders holding authority, suggest they are doing a good job of directing the company and therefore deserve to be running the business
www.lawstrategy.com/planning
LS Supporting Implementation •
Features – Tracks the 10 key factors that influence future success – Supplements traditional internal measures of success – Provides data for strategy development and planning – Prompts qualitative and quantitative thinking and assessment of current state versus desired state
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Benefits – Allows benchmarking against other law firms – Offers the ability to analyse by size or geography – Stimulates new leadership thinking – Encourages questioning of the status quo – Provides a catalyst for positive change
Methods for managing performance for today’s law firm preparing for the future 6.
Keeping on top of performance in a matrix transformation Performance is often measured by judging whether an individual or team has met expectations in respect of goals or standards achieved. This promotes an inward self centred approach and does not take into account the complex interdependencies of the modern law firm. Success is determined on the billable hours, growth in total fees earned. Little account is taken of efficient use of resource, new business acquired, relationships developed and potential unlocked in members of staff. Positioning and brand values, marketing effectiveness and business development are keys to unlock the vision embodied in the strategic map which charts the journey of shared endeavour, a common enterprise where leadership and management determine the degree of success.
www.lawstrategy.com/planning
The LS Performance Dashboard •
Features – Tracks the 10 key factors that influence future success – Supplements traditional internal measures of success – Provides data for strategy development and planning – Prompts qualitative and quantitative thinking and assessment of current state versus desired state
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Benefits – Allows benchmarking against other law firms – Offers the ability to analyse by size or geography – Stimulates new leadership thinking – Encourages questioning of the status quo – Provides a catalyst for positive change
Maintaining relevance for today’s law firm preparing for the future 7.
Staying in touch with dynamic changes to your market The changes that the legal profession has needed to address have reached a new water mark. Firms that have survived thus far may quite rightly be self congratulatory. The future however holds a degree and pace of change that to many will be unimaginable. The ability to adapt to change and mitigate the worst effects and challenges will be tested and many firms, and leaders of those firms found wanting. This is not spurious speculation but experience based on observation of other professions, in other business cycles and stages of maturity going through the same processes in the past. www.lawstrategy.com/planning
The LS Review •
Features – Tracks the 10 key factors that influence future success – Supplements traditional internal measures of success – Provides data for strategy development and planning – Prompts qualitative and quantitative thinking and assessment of current state versus desired state
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Benefits – Allows benchmarking against other law firms – Offers the ability to analyse by size or geography – Stimulates new leadership thinking – Encourages questioning of the status quo – Provides a catalyst for positive change
Investing in talent for today’s law firm preparing for the future 8.
Attracting, retaining and developing the potential talent of the promising leaders of the future When technology has levelled any knowledge advantage, when legislation has opened the field to competition, when regulation has pressured margins, when traditional hierarchical and financial structures start to crumble, when the life blood of new committed partners begins to dry up, when reputations become easily won on the tide of sophisticated social media marketing or lost on the toss of client relationship dice, when loyalty is undermined for lack of listening and bought with deep pockets.... What remains? PEOPLE – truly your greatest asset, to be nurtured and developed, to be allowed to bloom and realise their full potential, the one human factor that your clients relate to. www.lawstrategy.com/planning
The LS Leadership Development Programme •
Features – Tracks the 10 key factors that influence future success – Supplements traditional internal measures of success – Provides data for strategy development and planning – Prompts qualitative and quantitative thinking and assessment of current state versus desired state
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Benefits – Allows benchmarking against other law firms – Offers the ability to analyse by size or geography – Stimulates new leadership thinking – Encourages questioning of the status quo – Provides a catalyst for positive change
Engaging with Law Strategy illuminates the path, informs decision making, supports internal resource, shares relevant experience and concepts, maximise success for professions in a changing market The LS Survey – Determine where you stand – public survey The LS Diagnostic – Discover what you need to do better – detailed analysis of an individual firm Law Strategy Development – Better by Design , supporting visionary strategy (explore and formulate key decisions one aspect at a time or taking a fully integrated approach) with LS the bigger picture is always kept in mind – its what we do LS Planning Framework - Develop the best way forward understanding inter-dependencies and the importance of alignment of activities on efficiency and effectiveness when addressing organisational and behavioural change Brand Leadership Structure Talent Operations
LS supported implementation - Supporting leadership and management Deliver the plan with project management, expert advice and consultancy, coaching and mentoring those individuals and teams upon whom success depends LS measurement and management - What you measure you can manage – introducing bespoke management information systems that capture progress on the important and less visible (softer) aspects that drive success The LS review - Change is constant. Regular review of internal and external critical factors keeps your firm fit for the future whatever may occur – holistic and comprehensive
LS Training and development – working with leaders, future leaders, teams and practices to drive performance improvement and manage essential change
THE LAW STRATEGY SURVEY
The LS Survey • Context • Impact • Explicit problem that is solved
The LS Survey • Features – – – –
Tracks the 10 key factors that influence future success Supplements traditional internal measures of success Provides data for strategy development and planning Prompts qualitative and quantitative thinking and assessment of current state versus desired state
• Benefits – – – – –
Allows benchmarking against other law firms Offers the ability to analyse by size or geography Stimulates new leadership thinking Encourages questioning of the status quo Provides a catalyst for positive change
LS Survey – example output External communications
Structure
Internal communications
Reputation
Risk management
Client development
Culture
Opportunity
Strategy and planning
Leadership
Getting value out of the LS Survey • • • • • •
Basic Participation – free with brief report Detailed participation - £100 full survey report Analysis – your firm benchmarked in report £300 Feedback – as above plus results presented by LS £600 Workshop – as above plus half day workshop £900 Extended Surveys (future offer?) – Participants £200 + £25pp (for assessing internal alignment) – Progress analysis £250 (includes past and current assessment) – Prospect analysis £250 (includes current and potential capability assessment) – Practice analysis £250 per practice (alignment of practice management, team goals and processes to organisational strategy, fitness for purpose....)
Methodology • • • •
10 categories 10-15 questions per category Responses scored and weighted Relevance of model, indicative and predictive nature of factors assessed using statistical, qualitative, cognitive and quantitative analysis methodology • Quarterly or half yearly update • Confidentiality assured
Example questions – external communication • The quality of our external communications is generally excellent Very unsatisfied
unsatisfied
satisfactory
satisfied
very satisfied
• The frequency of our external communications means that our brand is often in front of clients and prospects Strongly disagree
disagree
don’t know
agree
strongly agree
• A healthy level of new leads is generated by our marketing Strongly disagree
disagree
don’t know
agree
strongly agree
• We obtain a good return on our investment in external communications Strongly disagree
disagree
don’t know
agree
strongly agree
Example questions – external communication •
Our external communication clearly position our firm where we want it to be Strongly disagree
•
agree
strongly agree
disagree
don’t know
agree
strongly agree
I often have positive feedback from clients, suppliers and other professionals on our external communications Strongly disagree
•
don’t know
Our external communications contribute to the pride our staff have in being part of this firm Strongly disagree
•
disagree
disagree
don’t know
agree
strongly agree
Our external communications are relevant and timely Strongly disagree
disagree
don’t know
agree
strongly agree
Example analysis
Example interpretation
Call to action
LAW STRATEGY DIAGNOSTIC
STRATEGY DEVELOPMENT
PLANNING FRAMEWORK
SUPPORTED IMPLEMENTATION
MEASURING AND MANAGING PROGRESS
REGULAR REVIEW STRATEGY AND PLANNING
TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT OF LEADERS AND THOSE IDENTIFIED AS POTENTIAL LEADERS