informed planning for an uncertain future

Walker Clark Strategic Thought Experiments

How can we prepare for success in an uncertain future?

Many law firm partners just collectively shrug, say Who can predict the future? and hope for the best.

They sometimes say We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Usually, when they finally “come to that bridge,” it has been washed away by changes that they could have anticipated.

They might try to make inadequately informed predictions—usually unrealistically optimistic or pessimistic—about what the legal services market will be like in 2030 or 2035. They results are no better than guesswork.

Stepping into the future with a Walker Clark Strategic Thought Experiment

Law firms today are under pressure from shifting client expectations, new technologies, and non‑traditional competitors. In this environment, a glossy five‑year plan is not enough; firms need a way to understand and rehearse the future before it arrives. Strategic thought experiments offer a practical way to do exactly that — not just to see into the future, but actually step into it.

A Walker Clark Strategic Thought Experiment will not only give you law firm a better, higher-definition understanding of future risks and opportunities; it will also you and your partners the concepts, tools, and methods you will need to make thought experiments an essential part of your firm’s strategic and business planning.

We will guide your firm through this process from start to finish, including custom-designed features that traditional strategic planning consultants often overlook or are unable to deliver.

  • We will thoroughly research the potential trends and developments—including geopolitical, technological, economic, and regulatory—that will produce the contingencies, risks, and opportunities that are most relevant and important for your firm and the clients you serve.

  • We will identify, define, and, where possible, quantify the variables that produce unanticipated changes—ones that most of your competitors will not notice until too late to respond effectively.

  • We will work closely with your leadership team and, when appropriate, your most important clients to develop future scenarios that are based in fact, not speculation or wishful thinking.

  • We will facilitate the discussion as you and your colleagues worth through the scenarios and define their implications for your firm. This can be an ideal theme for a special partners’ retreat. Your firm will also gain practical experience that you can apply to other issues in the future.

  • We will document the results in a contingency action plan, with early-warning indicators, metrics, and responses from your firm.

  • We recognize that even the most brilliant scenarios sometimes take unexpected turns. For that reason our fixed fee includes a review and confirmation of your contingency plan approximately 12 to 18 months after we deliver your contingency action plan.

We will deliver all these services for a fixed fee that includes all expenses and will produce a strong positive return on your investment, measured in terms of your law firm’s superior ability to meet the challenges and uncertainties of the future, and to help your clients do so, faster and more effectively than your competitors.

Is your law firm ready for a thought experiment?

See our other strategic support services for law firms.