WATCHING YOUR STEPS

Studying how you do the work in your law firm; from getting the business to getting paid, is a tool to help you acquire superior ways of doing business, make significant improvements which make your firm one of the fittest as you compete.
The way you do things is part of the series of steps designed to deliver a service, it is the space between input and output. And studying this process is a great opportunity to improve the speed and sharpness of your weapon. For example, Olympic hopefuls train for years to make it to the games and those who actually win medals are gods on earth. If you compared the training regimes they used in their preparation to taking a stroll in your neighborhood you would be comparing a 9 month old baby to a 25 year old US Marine.
Taking this example to your law firm, if your firm can take its work processes to Olympic level; by studying how it works now, by comparing it to law firms at the top of the lists in local and foreign territories, by exploring ideas from outside legal, by creating competitive advantages from what it learns then it can improve materially. This study shows you objectively, realistically where you are now. It is just like an exercise program, it only works if you have a realistic idea of what your physical state is at present.

The Mercedes S Class is built along entirely different processes and assumptions from the Toyota Camry in terms of mechanical input, intellectual capital content, craftsmanship and public presentation. So they are worlds apart and in the world of music the process John Coltrane used to make his music led to amazing sounds which he called Cathedrals of Sound. The point is that there was more to his music than just practising for one hour and getting on with it.

Your law practice is only as effective as its processes just like a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Take e-mail, some principals respond immediately while others set up a system that acknowledges the mail has been received and will be responded to within 24 hours. The point is to be prompt and responsive at all times and this creates a reputation for being reliable which will, in addition to the rest of the work the law firm does, give it an edge over the competition in the mind of the client and thus attract business because the firm can be depended on. But you have to believe in it, it has to be an issue with you as this is usually where the edge comes from. Another way to look at your law firm processes is to think of them as road networks; they are the fastest and most efficient way to get from point A to point B and better quality, well-kept roads mean things can move quicker, cheaper, difficult connections can be made.
Bad road networks always lead to wastes of time and resources on an industrial scale, they lead to seaports that take months to clear cargo. They also lead to diversions of business opportunities to places with better network advantages.

THERE IS LIFE OUTSIDE YOUR LAW FIRM

Whether you call it staring at your navel, being internally focused, dwelling on profit centres or whatever works at your law firm, the idea represented by any of the above is an unintended consequence of the way our business organizations are structured; the focus of the flow of ideas, information and effort is within the practice areas of the law firm.
When looking outside law land, say advertising, one of the strategies businesses have come up with to do better is to pay special attention to the interactions between different units of the business. There are two reasons for this, first; communication is what gets the business going and just like a state with poor transportation links will have trouble developing parts of its economy and will have high transport costs so will a law firm which neglects to address the communication between or among units. It will possess bad habits such as being slow to act, failing to make the most of the potential of its people etc. The human body's nervous and circulatory systems must work for the body to work and so must the way your law firm communicates, the way it does things give the best chances of making the most of what you have. Business is tough enough and your law firm does not need its hands tied.

Second, there is no profit in your law firm, just costs. The paying client or business is not in your organization and is not represented on your org chart. Law firm management exists to manage the business and after paying attention to matters in the practice areas the next place to focus on is on the flow between different areas of the law firm.
The idea being to get everyone facing the same direction, speaking the same language and making sure that when A is the order A is what everyone hears, sees and executes ; the entire firm is one unstoppable, impenetrable unit.
And as hilarious as the effects may be it is not always funny when a firm is working at cross purposes, in ignorance of how one part of the firm fits with another and how it can offer help, support. More to the point, the competitive advantages this single impenetrable unit working in one direction will give in terms of creating better products, setting service levels, addressing small problems before they escalate, being close to the client and generally being a fitter law firm will put it in a good position when it competes against other law firms.

Lots of clients are now complex entities with varying business units across several geographies and as part of understanding the field your law firm is playing in it will flow naturally for you to examine the internal working of your clients and how they manage the dynamic between its different units.

BEING A STAR

All businesses, especially service businesses loudly proclaim; 'Our people are our best asset', then they go on to lay the logic of how their best ideas and initiatives have to be generated by, bought into and executed by their people. How can their people not be their best asset? And you know law firms, they just have to go one step further.
Since what law firms sell is the potential capacity to deliver legal services, they've created a sort of superstar system around their lawyers where they showcase the intellectual, legal juggernauts, neophytes and middling performers who will engage in the business if the law firm is able to secure it. They show potential clients who will be working on the business.
But, in every accounting entry, people are classed as liabilities, people are largely replaceable and are so replaced at the first sign of trouble such as when a merger is consummated. In the developing world generally, natural resources are the greatest asset because they are easier to manage, convert to cash and a market already exists for them.
And so a slight modification to the people are our most important asset cliché is necessary since it really is something said for advertisement and for the proclaiming institution to be seen as forward thinking. The people referred to as our most important asset are those who add high value and are difficult to replace. The rest of everyone else can be automated or kept with low investment of resources. Breadwinners, those who give more than they take, star performers, talented people. These are your law firm's most important asset.

For the individual lawyer, your job is to become a most important asset since what is the city but the people? And in addressing the people drama, the people usually get blamed and carry the can especially if you work in a mediocre law firm. Management will not sack or punish itself, the workers will just have to work harder. Solutions usually are to train, transfer, coach, coach, counsel, discipline, replace and they are all done to those on the shop floor but in law firms that are decidedly not mediocre they take a step back and examine the entire system.
What would a sane economic agent do in this systemic situation? Athletes go where their talent will be supported and unless support is provided in tangible forms like; doctors, pay, international competitiveness, you have a losing proposition and will have frequent defections to and defeats by better teams who provide what the athletes need.
Plus it is really easier to redesign the system instead of haranguing lawyers to work harder.
Hollywood has a system where stars get paid insane amounts of money for their work. The stars love it, the studios love it and the fans love it. The result? Everyone wants to be a star. The system has watered the seeds it wants to grow and the thousands who go there provide an eternal, diverse and vibrant talent pool just like the pre 1950's Catholic church.
Law firms have a lot to learn from these actors and film studios on how to manage talent as productive assets.

CHOO CHOO TRAIN

The reality for the individual performer in the law firm is that even quite talented and motivated people can only improve the practice as much as its work processes can allow; there is a reason governments are seen as slow, bureaucratic and stifling of initiatives. For the system to work the individual lawyer must work with the team for good or for ill and this can lead to only encouraging thinking, ideas and initiatives that can fit along the tracks laid down in the law firm. This is the same in many other businesses so what are you to do as an individual talented lawyer?

You first have to manage your boss by asking, finding out and observing; how can you work to support your boss, what does she expect from you and then, what must you never do. Once you have this covered then you pay attention to cultivating independent thought and come up with initiatives you can put into play that can help your law firm especially if it is outside your job description.
You've got to be thinking wider, making contributions above processing the work and you cannot keep your head down doing just what you are told. If you are in a role where trying this out is impossible or it gets you whacked, then this strategy will not work and you need to move. But if you are managing your boss and coming up with ways to put your initiatives into play, your practice will be open to at least hearing you out.
Another important step is hooking up with fellow employees up and down the ladder as they will have meaningful input and support and projects you can help them with. You can even look at wilderness projects which no one cares about or which no one wants to touch. If you are able to make something of it then you have some elbow room and more importantly, you can test your skills which you think you possess and build confidence out there in the wilderness.
All this comes from the reality that ineffective systems bind potentially effective people and if you put a potentially effective person against an effective system, the system will win every time.
Trains only run where there are train tracks.

Expand Your Role

In the world that we live in and practice the law in, the media; free, objective, unbiased or otherwise is not in the business of telling your side, your law firm's side or your client's side of; the story, your story or any story for that matter. It is in the business of selling papers and you just happened to provide grist for the mill. This leads to the following reality: the story will be told the way the media sees it and to be frank, you are quite content during other times when they provide you with so-called objective, unbiased opinion. Now imagine your client is the current embattled governor of Lagos state, Akinwunmi Ambode who is being called all sort of names. As his legal advisers you have to give a position to right the wrong as you see it to his dedication and service. What to do? The rules of engagement mean you must look at history for similar cases and what worked in those cases a d how you can apply them to the current dilemma and do remember that in his age of the free press, censoring may not always work.
The point of this example is, what is your legal advisory approach to publicity debacles other than waiting to sue and placing an ad in the paper? How can you anticipate and be on top of the situation, form solid partnerships with key stakeholders in the client account so you can funnel your value add, legal and otherwise to manage the situation. Prima facie, it does not have the appearance of litigation but you cannot fold your hands while your client gets creamed, however remote the situation is from your legal expertise, unless folding your hand is the strategy. This kind of situation will fall under your scope as a client adviser and not a mere legal expert for hire and if your law firm does okay and makes a truly valued contribution be it hand holding, offering support, ideas, general context, it most certainly will lead to you being seen as more than 'legal' and you will conceivably be part of decision level conversations with a full seat at the table and not merely receiving instructions down the pike.
In the event that this wide-level approach to practising the law seems like meddling, a word of advice, you really have to keep expanding your role, taking on responsibilities that are above your pay grade so you are well positioned as a firm for a long term profitable future with the said client. Or as it is said, I be lawyer, trouble na my work.

Say It

Wetin lawyer dey talk sef? If you are one of the learned that inspires comments as in 'what confusion are you spreading now' then read. Slowly. Communicating is really a big deal in legal. In general life, true and in legal especially. So the better you are at it the more success your law practice will be so a few ideas on it will help. Whether you call it having a command of language, being charismatic or being articulate: the ability to direct an audience like a conductor at the orchestra (think Bill Clinton ) has immense practical benefits.
Speech is a presentation of ideas so it is about expressing meaning, having an internal connection yourself with what you are thinking and want to say and presenting it in the most effective way you can. The key word here is, ideas. At the pith of your presentation what idea are you passing across. And since the effective presentation of your ideas is complex and difficult you have to be engaged in the preparation process so you put in a bit of your individuality which is what qualifies you and helps you kill it when you are speaking whether it is to one or to many. You will thus be authentic, moving and will connect to who you are talking with.

Non-legal Professionals

The practice of the law is in many ways a relationship business primarily because the service is delivered in person by a person , legal marketing is by referrals and the bedside manner of the firm's lawyers significantly affects the level of influence with the clients. It is just like the hospitality business or being a consultant, you have got to have serious social and emotional intelligence. And on that note let's look at a vital aspect of relationships: those with non-legal professionals. We're talking accountants, PR, marketing people and others who are not in the legal sandbox. The good news is that the connection between some of these guys is natural and even sanctioned by law such as accountants, then the line between legal and financial services is blurry as legal is very fluent if financial services (think UK and US law firms),as is the connect between legal and consulting and finally between legal and all sorts of business. They sometimes seem joined at the hip.
The potential to secure and generate business, influence and goodwill is there and it is major so what is your law firm about on this front? Is there a program, are you winging it or is there a mix? Recently at the NBA-SBL roundtable with the CAC, the chief official at the CAC made a telling point on the issue of planning. He said that a reason lawyers lack a consistent client base is lack of follow through, noting that after lawyers had initiated and completed company incorporation process very few ever checked back to file annual returns months later when they were due. The general laughter of derision and sullen silence from the lawyers present was a stark demonstration of this insight. But he had a point and we at IBARU-McKENZIE further venture to add that a lack of a client engagement plan and framework is why this happens. How do you plan to stay in touch, how do you plan to apologise, how do you plan to expand your share of business from the client, what investments will you make to make this happen?
And the very same thing goes for working relationships with non-legal professionals because out of sight is out of mind and these professionals are potential clients, major clients or can make referrals.
The Chinese call it Guanxi and for good or I'll while relationships are sometimes used for cronyism, they also make you aware of potential, potential problems and potential opportunities.