Walker Clark
Worldview Archives
Why Judicial Independence Matters
As world events have made increasingly clear during at least the past 15 years, the rule of law is not only a worthy philosophical concept, but is also a basic requirement for the stable economic environments necessary for sustainable growth and development.
It is a vital interest of every lawyer — even the most hard-nosed commercial lawyers — and every client. Without the rule of law, every client's rights, interests, and future are at risk, even those of the wealthiest and best-connected members of society.
What Binds Us Together
In these days of sanctions, sabre-rattling, and "red lines," it is refreshing to see how the common values and commitments of the legal profession prove stronger than the political, economic, and ideological differences that would divide us.
This is one of the ten most frequently read posts in the Worldview Archives, with more than 11,000 views since it was published in 2014.
A Profitability Agenda Item for Your Next Partners’ Meeting
Do you want to quick-start your firm's efforts to improve your profitability?
At your next partners' meeting or partners' retreat, invest an hour or two in reviewing your write-offs. This exercise can provide actionable insights into issues that you and your partners might not have been noticed otherwise. It can produce very substantial improvements in profitability in a very short time, usually with only minimal investments of time, attention, and resources.
“Backwards” Planning
"We are great at making plans, but we can never implement them."
This is a common observation by partners and managers at many law firms. Their firms invest substantial amounts of time, effort, and money on planning, but most of the plans never achieve anything.
Or, if they do, the results are far less than what the firm had hoped.
Is a network a good strategic investment for your law firm?
This is the fourth and final article in a series of posts that consider the future of professional services networks. It investigates the links between law firm networks and law firm strategy.
Internal Value: A Hidden Opportunity for Law Firms in Professional Services Networks
The internal value of membership in a professional services network has the potential to have a much greater positive impact on a law firm's bottom line than even a robust flow of referrals from other network members. In some firms it could be the compelling reason to join a network.
Currently, internal value is a largely unknown concept for most networks and their members. Law firms should now consider to what extent professional services networks could help them to increase the productivity and profitability of their internal operations.
Does your network deliver external value?
Most law firms join networks to gain substantial external benefits, such as referrals of clients and matters, the opportunity to collaborate with other firms on large projects, and better market visibility. For many law firms, that decision produces disappointing results.
In this post, we will consider the future of professional services networks from the perspective of the tangible external value that they deliver --- or not. What can law firms expect in terms of external value as part of the return on their investment?
This is one of the ten most frequently read posts in the Worldview Archives, with more than 12,000 views since it was published in 2014.
Understanding the Investment in Professional Services Networks
This is the first in a series of four posts that consider the future of professional services networks, with particular reference to their strategic value for law firms.
We will suggest three perspectives from which the future of networks should be considered, and from which law firms that are members and prospective members of those networks should engage in an ongoing evaluation of whether participation in a network is likely to continue to produce a reasonable return on investment.
What fuels your partnership: trust or suspicion?
Trust is one of the most prevalent governance challenges facing growing professional services firms today.
This is not just a "feel-good" issue or a matter of preserving an artificial collegiality that might have been more characteristic of small law firms one hundred years ago. The level of trust that exists among partners has a direct and measurable effect on the firm's business performance.
Diversity: An Overlooked Asset in Law Firms
An article in the on-line edition of The Lawyer on 1 April 2014 paints a disappointing picture of the extent to which women have been able to move up into the senior ranks of partners at leading U.S. law firms in London.
Although the reasons for this poor showing vary from firm to firm, the bottom line is that these firms — like so many others in the United States and elsewhere — continue to ignore the importance of diversity to the business success of their organizations, and a few apparent antediluvians in the legal profession continue to dismiss diversity as irrelevant.
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.
Making Lemonade
Crisis usually brings opportunity, and one of Ukraine's leading law firms, Sayenko Kharenko, has demonstrated commendable strategic agility in response to the Crimean crisis in a newsletter that they published today.
Can't deliver? Here are three possible reasons why.
Some law firms are great at planning, but can't seem to implement any of their decisions.
Some law firms have great, compelling marketing communications, but can't keep their clients once they have won them.
There are three very reliable indicators that can explain why.
Taking Charge of Change
Law firm partners everywhere can learn about managing change from the experience of the Maasai people of East Africa. Their story has many instructive points that need to be considered.
Internal Globalization
An article in today's on-line edition of The Lawyer reports that Anglo-Australian firm Herbert Smith Freehills has started a pilot project by which its dispute resolution work in Australia, especially in the area of document review, is supported by its team in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The project is expected to finish in April 2014, at which time the firm will evaluate the results.
This "internal globalization" of support functions is an option that many multi-office law firms overlook or dismiss as too hard.
Future Search: Is it right for your law firm?
If traditional strategic planning methods have not produced the results that your firm wants, you might want to consider Future Search.
Teaching New Tricks to Old Cats
Leading in law firms is nothing like "herding cats."
Lawyers and law firms might pose special challenges to leadership, but these challenges are no greater than those posed by the special characteristics of other professions such as engineering and accounting.
It has nothing to do with "cats."
The Art of Lawyer Recruiting
One of the biggest investments — and sometimes the biggest mistake — that a law firm makes is when it hires a lawyer.
This post links to two practical guides to make the hiring decision more reliable.
The Six Classic Drivers of Law Firm Profitability
Six factors have the greatest overall impact in the profitability and long-term financial performance of small and midsize law firms worldwide.
This is one of the ten most frequently read posts in the Worldview Archives, with more than 12,000 views since it was published in 2014.
Cornerstones for Strategic Planning in Professional Associations
I was recently asked what I believed to be the “essentials” of strategic planning in a professional association, such as a law firm network or bar association.
There are at least four such characteristics, which I could describe as cornerstones. Without each one, the strategic planning process probably will fail.
