MPF WHITE PAPER - AW 2014 Law Firms in Transition - 10-21-14

2014 LAW FIRMS IN TRANSITIONleaders nearly split – 56% said long-term, client-focused investment was the greaterdriver, and 44% chose short-term profitability to hold on to key partners.Larger firms were somewhat more likely to be driven by long-term considerations.Mega-firms – those with 1,000 or more lawyers – clearly broke from the pack on thisquestion. Eighty-six percent of that group indicated that their decision making islong-term in nature and designed to lock in clients.Larger firms’ bias for longer-term, client-focused strategic change is most likely apragmatic response to greater pressure they are feeling from large corporate clientsthat the ‘BigLaw’ category is more likely to serve. Those firms may also haveleaders with more autonomy and authority to make some decisions withoutreference to the entire partnership, making those firms more able to implementchange.But smaller firms should take note. Regardless of the reasons, once one segment ofthe market starts moving toward a new more client-focused model and resettingmarket expectations, other firms will need to fall in step or they will inevitably fallbehind.FINDING OPPORTUNITIES IN THE CHANGING MARKETWe believe there are myriad opportunities to improve law firms’ competitivenessboth short and long-term. Leaders at all levels must immediately find ways to bettereducate their colleagues about changes in the marketplace so they can starttransforming from within rather than having change imposed upon them fromwithout.Think long-term, act short-termMost firms are not making current investments in a future they acknowledge will bedifferent – and different in seemingly predictable ways.Planning in law firms traditionally has been short-term and often more operationalthan strategic. But responding to the current market environment calls for a planninghorizon focused on plausible realities eight to ten years out, as well as ongoingstrategic thought rather than episodic planning. Today’s plans must combine currentAn Altman Weil Flash Survey v