Walker Clark
Worldview Archives
Eight Things for Indian Law Firms to Think About
As part of our ongoing experiment to test the potential value of artificial planning in law firm management, we asked the newest version of our chatbot, openai GPT-4, what Indian law firms should be considering in their planning for the incursion of foreign law firms into the Indian legal market.
The response outlined eight good starting points.
Should your law firm become a legal services “oasis?”
Instead of trying to expand your market presence in a major commercial center, which is already crowded with competitors, your firm's better opportunities might be found in a "legal desert."
Merger, Best Friends, or Something Else?
Many small and midsize law firms find themselves in some difficult — and for most of them, unprecedented — strategic predicaments.
They also are confronted with a wide range of possibilities such as, mergers, Vereins, general and specialized networks, and "best friends" relationships.
How can each firm make the decision that is best for them?
Survival Tools for Small and Midsize Law Firms
Law firms — indeed, most professional services firms — will be confronted by some formidable challenges between now and the year 2030. Consolidation of the legal market, the emerging dominance of large service providers with national and global capabilities, a continued profitability crunch, and increased competition for professional talent are probably the most obvious threats to continued success.
Independent small and midsize firms are the most vulnerable.
Artificial Intelligence: The Legal Mind at its Best?
Law firm partners should invest a few minutes in their own future, by watching a recent series of TED Talks about artificial intelligence.
None of these talks deal directly with the practice of law, but all of them are highly relevant to the Scylla and Charybdis of profitability and competition that threaten small and midsize law firms throughout the world.
Five Asian Legal Markets to Watch: Vietnam
Vietnam will experience substantial growth in its economy and legal market in the next five years. In our view, it already is a "must be there" location for any international firm that is seriously interested in developing a Southeast Asian practice, especially law firms based in other parts of the Asia-Pacific region.
We also expect that a group of well-regarded independent Vietnamese law firms can continue to compete effectively against the local offices of foreign law firms.
This is the second of our series of briefings on high-potential legal markets in Asia for the next five years.
Five Asian Markets to Watch: Philippines
Our recent evaluation of the growth prospects of Asian legal markets between now and 2020 persuade us that the Philippines will present great opportunities for local and foreign law firms. We expect more foreign law firms to increase their activities and, for some, their presence in the Philippines.
We also expect that increased competition will challenge the strategic thinking and management acumen of Philippine law firms, including well-established market leaders, as perhaps never before.
Five Asia-Pacific Legal Markets to Watch in the Next Five Years
This is the first of a series of six posts that will be published over the next three months and that will report our firm's analysis and forecasts for five Asia-Pacific legal markets that we believe will offer the greatest growth in the demand for legal services from international law firms and well-established national and local firms.
An Open Indian Legal Market: Opportunity or Threat to Indian Law Firms?
The Bar Council of India is about to approve rules to permit foreign lawyers to practice in India. National and local law firms in India are already concerned about how the entry of foreign lawyers and law firms could change the competitive dynamics of the Indian legal market.
Are you a law firm or a condominium?
This is an important question, especially for small and midsize law firms that want to have a future.
Many smaller law firms are firms in name only. The partners share a common brand, office space, and expenses, but almost nothing else.
Resilience: Playing an Unexpected Poor Hand Well Enough to Win
"We are in a window of change right now. There are certain traditional firms that will die," said Richard Rosenbaum, former CEO and current Executive Chair of Greenberg Traurig.
How can law firms become resilient during unprecedented changes in the profession?
The Coming Seismic Shift in Law Firm Business Development
As legal markets become even more competitive over the next ten years, commercial law firms will need to reconsider many of their long-held assumptions and practices about marketing and business development.
Some firms will negotiate the coming seismic shift well and continue to succeed. Others will not.
Social Entrepreneurship and Law Firm Strategy
The emergence of social entrepreneurship points to a promising specialty market for law firms, in which, as in other areas of legal services, an early entrant with an intensely client-focused and well-managed practice could establish a significant and durable competitive advantage. This creates a market opening for small and midsize firms with well-balanced transactional experience.
In this arena, size is not necessarily an advantage.
Why Law Firms Fail: Failure to Observe and Anticipate
There is no simple answer to the question "why did a law firm fail?"
This is the first in a series of posts that will point out some of the most frequent causes.
Seven Keys to the Future of Independent Law Firms in Asia
The effects of globalization of legal markets pose a unique set of risks and opportunities for independent law firms in Asia.
This brief article outlines seven observations of Walker Clark LLC members, some of whom have more than 20 years’ experience advising Asian law firms on strategic and operational matters.
Could the end of the legal market as we know it be at hand?
Sir Nigel Knowles, the global co-chief of DLA Piper, and the architect of DLA's remarkable transformation from a regional law firm in England to a major global brand, has published some interesting thoughts in today's on-line edition of The Lawyer.
I am not sure that I agree with everything that he says, but I strongly recommend that lawyers everywhere, in large firms and small alike, read and consider carefully his interpretation of ongoing events in the legal markets.
Is merger the only answer?
Pay close attention to the recent flurry of merger discussions among midsize law firms. Unlike merger discussions during the past two or three years, which tended to be motivated by a defensive strategy -- i.e., increase size to protect the firm's ability to complete -- some of the recent discussions appear to be aimed at expanding market share and increasing the client base, rather than just maintaining it.
Let's look ahead to the period between now and 2020. The recent activity presents some strong clues about the future.
Grow or Die? — a Third Way Forward for Small Law Firms
Small and midsize law firms in consolidating legal markets, especially in emerging economies, usually have only two basic options if they want to continue to compete effectively for the highest-value work from the best clients: grow to meet increasing demand for services in large, complex matters or shrink to become a boutique.
There is a third option, however.
It might be unpleasant for some law firm partners, but it can be a realistic option worth consideration.
The Next Recession: Is your firm ready?
This is the first of a four-part series that examines possible strategies and tactics to prepare your law firm now for the next recession.
Some of them also can produce good results now — even without an economic downturn.
