managing your firm's future

 

 

Changing client needs and expectations...

Large global law firms entering new markets...

Decreased client loyalty...

Increased difficulty in recruiting and retaining top legal talent...

 

These factors make it harder than ever before to manage the future of your practice.

 

Managing partners, senior partners, and other law firm leaders tell us that traditional strategic planning methods no longer work well. They often produce, at best, disappointing results. In some instances, a firm's three-year strategic plan is obsolete after a year. Other firms develop what appear to be solid strategic plans, but they cannot implement them.

 

Our clients also have told us that:

• Traditional strategic planning methods are too time-consuming, often taking up to a year just to develop and agree to the strategic plan. Law firms are understandably reluctant to commit to hundreds of thousands of dollars in consulting fees and partner time to write a document that may or may not produce results.

• Too many law firm strategic plans are superficial, uninformed exercises is wishful thinking, conjured up at a weekend retreat or a partners meeting. The partners seldom dis deeply enough into the client base to identify realistic opportunities, or into the firm's internal organization and culture to determine whether the firm has the resources needed to achieve the desired results.

• Many traditional plans ignore measurements, making it harder for the firm to determine whether the strategic plan has changed things for the better, or just changed things.

• Sometimes the firm's strategic plan is really just the work of a small group of partners, but never gains the enthusiasm or support of their colleagues.

• In worst cases, it is cut-and-paste job written entirely by consultants,with little or no input the lawyers or the clients whom they serve.

 

a better way to better strategic results

 

Walker Clark members have been advising law firms, corporate law departments, and government legal agencies on strategic planning matters for more than 15 years.

 

We offer a range of focused strategic services that help our clients to achieve the best possible return on the investment of time, intellectual energy, and resources. Each of our strategic services is built on these bedrock principles:

• We design each Walker Clark strategic service to meet the specific needs and unique characteristics of each client.

• Our tools and methods involve real-life business reality, supported by data, rather than generic theories or academic exercises.

• We help our clients to set specific, measurable, and realistic objectives, and to measure and evaluate the results.

• We work alongside our clients to implement their plans and to achieve their goals. Every Walker Clark strategic engagement includes ongoing assistance with implementation for periods ranging from 90 days to one year, depending on the project.

To explore these and other benefits of a Walker Clark strategic planning project, please contact us by e-mail or by telephone at +1.941.322.7077.