Law in the age of the customer

Mark Cohen opens Law in the age of the customer with the statement: This is the age of the customer.

The asymmetrical advantage that sellers long held over buyers is gone. Consumers have access to market information and choice that has transformed the buy-sell dynamic. Social media provides them with a reference source and a voice. The balance of power has shifted from the supply to the demand side. The customer is king in the digital age.

Remaking News of the Week: Canadian business is turning away from BigLaw

I re-phrased the headline of this week’s Remaking News of the Week to read Canadian business is turning away from BigLaw because, like some others, I find the reference to ‘alternative legal service providers’ in the source of the news an anachronism.

Remaking News of the Week: Cole Silver’s timely statement of the obvious

In Remaking News of the Week: Cole Silver’s timely statement of the obvious says: “Clients put food on your table and they’re the reason you exist. Having a client centric leadership is the key to driving superior performance and a competitive advantage” (LinkedIn).

One might well ask why make a statement like this newsworthy? Answer: Yes, it’s a self-evident truth, but still far from a reality for the majority of clients of BigLaw business model firms.

Words matter: Customers, not Clients

Remaking News of the Week: Baker Mckenzie nears $3b

25 years ago David Maister published Managing the Professional Service Firm

It’s 25 years since David Maister published Managing the Professional Service Firm (1993). I count myself fortunate to have a copy inscribed by David on my bookshelf. 

Recently, while preparing a presentation to professional services CMOs, I dipped into chapter 2, The Professional Firm Lifecycle and was reminded of the depth of David’s prescience on how meeting the range of clients’ needs profitably requires different business models.