Why are lawyers afraid of opportunity?

Why are lawyers afraid of opportunity? is a most welcome contribution to Dialogue by Dr. Floortje Blindenbach-Driessen.

When chatting with my lawyer friends, the only thing I hear is that all is sweet and well. “We have been practicing law this way for 100 years.” “Our clients hire us to address their mission-critical and complex problems, which require our in-depth expertise.” “Innovating is not something we do, lawyers are by nature risk averse and conservative.” Meanwhile, they are moving to smaller offices, further out of town, reducing their staff, and purchasing smaller lease cars. While that is just anecdotal and symptomatic evidence of tough times, there are several books that provide in-depth detail of the struggles of law firms, such as Remaking Law Firms: Why & How (American Bar Association 2016).  What I’m fascinated with is why lawyers struggle to acknowledge there is the opportunity and need for change?

Law Firm Profitability + Service Delivery: What the Altman Weil Survey Says

What law firms and taxis have in common

‘What law firms and taxis have in common’ explores the relevance to BigLaw firms of the deep insights in What is Disruptive Innovation? an article by Clayton Christensen and colleagues (Harvard Business Review December 2015).

Intrapreneurs needed in BigLaw firms

‘Intrapreneurs needed in BigLaw firms’, today’s post on Dialogue by Joshua Kubicki draws our attention (again – thank you, Joshua) to one of the most important challenges BigLaw firms face in remaking their business models: Leadership capable of managing the daunting change involved. 

Law firm strategy in a buyer’s market

 Today’s post is by Jordan Furlong about his new book, ‘Law Firm Strategy in a Buyer’s Market’.

“Strategy” is a widely used and frequently misunderstood term in law firms. Ask most lawyers about their firm’s strategy, and they’ll think back to that time when the firm’s leadership team took several meetings and at least one offsite retreat to come up with a grand vision for the firm, eventually expressed in a handsome bound document that now occupies the rarely accessed top shelf in their office. (Editor: The truth of Jordan’s observation is not limited law firms.)

Origins of the modern law firm: Insights and omens

I said to myself, these insights on origins of the modern law firm are even more apt than when Ed first penned them in 2015. In the past week, I have seen first-hand four substantial Australian law firms sliding further into difficulties because they have not fully understood the omens…..