Now in its eight year, Altman Weil’s annual survey continues to document the forces reshaping the landscape for legal services and how law firms are responding. 356 firms with 50 or more lawyers participated, including half of the country’s top law firms. The full survey report runs 132 pages and contains lots of charts and graphs. The more digestible Executive Summary runs just twelve pages.
Key Findings
- Stagnant Demand for Legal Services. The reason to get closer than ever to your clients and ramp up your firm’s marketing program.
- Oversupply of lawyers. It’s a buyer’s market, and don’t think for a minute that sophisticated clients aren’t taking advantage of the situation, especially governments, banks and insurance companies.
- Inefficient Service Delivery. Standardized processes and procedures will make your firm more efficient and profitable. But partners have to give up some autonomy for the good of the firm.
- Proactive Approach. It can create a competitive advantage for your firm in areas like alternative fee arrangements. Don’t wait for clients to come to you.
- Resistance to Change – It’s not so much firm leaders, it’s their partners who don’t feel a sense of urgency to evolve and adapt.
Recommendations to Firm Leaders
- It’s Time to Lead. Enough with the managing and consensus building already.
- Appoint the Right People to Leadership Positions. Not always the senior lawyers and lawyers with big books of business.
- Address Chronic Underperformance. Your dynamos don’t want to be around (nor carry) dead weight.
- Focus Attention on Practice Groups. We like industry-focused practice groups for a slew of reasons.
- Get Closer than Ever to Clients. Never ever take the clients you want to keep for granted. Go visit. Learn about the company. Learn about its industry. Become a trusted advisor.
- Educate your Partners. Most of them pay little attention to the “big picture” stuff. Make sure they know what’s going on, and why your firm must evolve and adapt to the changing marketplace.
This is one of the best “state of the profession” reports out there, and we strongly encourage you to share it with your partners and senior staff.
Click here (or above) to download the complete 132-page survey report.
Click here to download the 12-page executive summary.