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John Fraser*

This article was previously published in Lexpert, November 2004.

No doubt every reader has found herself or himself in the middle of a particularly frantic period in the office, with big files coming and going, everybody working at their limit. How often do we stop to think about what makes the office or practice click, what makes it hum, and what actually feels good? I’ve experienced that hectic environment many times during my 20 years of leading professionals and several years of consulting to them. And I’ve asked myself the question, what is the magic bullet?

Year-end is always a good time to consider whether the firm is following the right recipe to make a real difference for clients, which is of course what it is all about.

A sense of team is absolutely essential - mutual respect, appreciation, the ability to play on each other’s strengths and to minimize weaknesses, and even affection for each other at times. We know of one firm that values sheer horsepower and “niceness” above all other things. In fact, for nice people, they are quite ruthless about preserving these values. But the importance of being more than just a collection of individuals cannot be stressed enough. Without it there is no basis to build a sustainable firm.

Leadership is also key – one or more individuals who have the utmost respect of their partners and the ability to effectively guide the firm toward making choices about what is important to the practice, what sets it apart from the competition, what makes it unique. Good leaders will recognize that it is all about the clients – their business, their requirements and how to get the firm or teams within the firm working together to provide quality service and innovative offerings.

Growing the business today requires a proactive approach. Leadership will drive the planning stage - to guide everyone toward analyzing opportunities, deciding on targets and determining the means and resources required to meet those targets. Good leaders will ensure that measurable objectives are developed, and that responsibility for their achievement is assigned to specific individuals.

Leadership must also drive execution, i.e. getting things done. And nothing speaks louder than by leading by example – for instance a managing partner who takes the time to meet one on one with the firm’s top 25 clients to get their feedback and identify opportunities.

It is important to reflect on the need to make changes to the business model. The traditional law firm model and reality – fees by the hour, rates based on seniority, work coming to partners and not always being sufficiently delegated - come up short, when balanced against the desire we see in our law department work for innovation, reduced or stabilized costs and a deeper value proposition. There is appetite for success fees, premiums, blended rates, rates reflecting the complexity of the work and not the individual lawyers, fixed fees, and multi-year agreements. A senior partner in a Bay Street firm commented recently these sorts of arrangements force the firm to re-think how it does business to remain profitable. Working smarter and better is the answer.

Another key ingredient is a strategy to mentor and develop new talent. It is a given that the future of the firm depends on the steady recruitment of associates and the progression of the stars to partner level and leadership positions in the office. And the reality is that the next generation of lawyers doesn’t necessarily want to work at the same intensity as the current partners and that family pressures speak louder than they used to. The challenge is to get the fundamentals of talent management right.

Lastly, there must be rewards for doing more than billing time. The firm’s compensation system must reward the right behaviours as well as the right performance. Performance is measured not only in individual terms but also as it relates to team and the strategic goals of the firm. The principal focus is on making the economic pie as big as possible. And the economic heavyweights in the office have to buy into and lead the process.

In conclusion, what it takes to fire on all cylinders is a team culture, effective leadership, and a defined strategy for servicing clients, growing the business and managing talent – topped off with a compensation system that rewards non-billable contributions. Like with any recipe, leaving out an ingredient can skew the results. Start your engines!

* John Fraser, BCA, MBA, is a partner with Catalyst Consulting. The firm has been designated the Preferred Supplier for Legal Services Consulting by both the CBA and the Canadian Corporate Counsel Association. John can be contacted at (416) 367-4447 or through the website at http://www.catalystlegal.com.