We addressed innovation (disruptive and otherwise) in a series of articles last summer. The topic is certainly not resolved as evidenced by the many posts responding to and expanding upon a recent discussion of disruptive innovation at Harvard Law School. …
This article is a follow-up to a major section in our recent article Non-Lawyers: A Critical Success Factor for the Law Firm of the Future. Namely, when should non-lawyers – and specifically, business development professionals – be expected to interact…
Over the past year we have noticed an important word showing up more often in the strategy deliberations of our law firm clients. That word is intentional, literally meaning “done in a way that is planned or intended; thoughtful; deliberate;…
Last month we talked about mid-size law firms: how best to define “mid-sized;” whether aggressive growth was the most logical strategy for mid-size firms; and alternatives to adopting an aggressive growth strategy. We got quite a bit of feedback –…
The Executive Committee of an AmLaw 200 firm (aspiring to become an AmLaw 100 firm) raised the following question. “(We’re at) an awkward size (roughly 500+ lawyers)…what should a mid-size firm like ours do (strategically)?” Given their aspirations, the answer…
The rise of Axiom, Clearspire and other disruptive innovators in the Legal Process Outsourcing (LPO) segment of the market has led to a wave of articles and blog posts – some insightful and well considered and some likely to prove…
Throughout the course of 2012, Sterling Strategies conducted monthly mini-surveys, each focused on a single strategy topic. The intent was to develop some empirical data on what works and what does not work relative to a variety of strategic management…
Our strategy topic for the November 2012 focused on where the future leaders of law firms will be coming from. There is a simple industry wide issue relative to generational demographics. A very large cohort of baby boomer partners…
The demographics of the legal industry are clear – a very large cohort of baby boomer partners will be retiring over the next 20 years. In fact, by 2020 (eight years from now) half of the boomer cohort will be…
October’s law firm strategy topic of month was the value of client feedback. Our initial rationale for exploring this topic grew as a by-product of our June 2012 strategy question of the month. June’s survey focused on best practices in…
Our June 2012 strategy question of the month focused on best practices in strategic planning in law firms. One of the principle factors that distinguished the firms reporting the most success with strategic planning from those reporting the least success…
Our July law firm strategy question of the month focused on the characteristics that comprise a “model partner.” While crafting the balance of behaviors and traits of an ideal partner is a bit more fun (and bit less strategic) than…
This month’s strategy question is designed to be a bit of fun – but, in the service of a serious strategic issue. As law firm leaders are well aware, lateral movement by partners has increased dramatically over the past decade-plus.…
This month we are exploring the factors that make law firm strategic planning processes more or less effective. As always, the survey is designed to be quick and easy to complete (no more than a two minute investment). Deadline…
One of the key findings of our April 2012 “strategy question of the month” involved the strategic importance practice groups (and filling out the practice group portfolio) have in determining law firms’ merger and acquisition strategies. In the write-up of…
Our April 2012 strategy question of the month focuses on strategic growth. The latest Am Law 100 found that headcount growth has resumed across the largest firms in the U.S. Further, those tracking law firm mergers found that activity in…
When the National Law Journal published the new NLJ250 (now expanded to the NLJ 350) in late March 2012, the headline was “For Large Firms, Time to Grow Again.” We certainly see an uptick in merger and acquisition activity among…