Growth Strategies for the Modern Law Firm

Since the economic downturn law firms that once saw growth as easy and inevitable are finding that the only way to achieve this is now to wrest market share from the competition. There is no one "right" way to do this; some firms have opted for a determined policy of buying market share and recruiting lateral talent, while others rely on more organic growth.
With contributions from a wide range of thought leaders and industry experts, Growth Strategies for the Modern Law Firm provides advice on a number growth options available, and shares practical guidance designed to help firm leaders to formulate and implement a profitable, sustainable growth strategy.

Topics covered include:

Aligning strategy, culture, and performance management with a growth agenda
Utilizing a key relationship management program to retain and grow clients and referral sources
Implementing listening programs to better serve clients, and create a platform for differentiation and growth
Making cross-selling a cornerstone of growth strategies and firm culture
Critical success factors that enable lateral hiring to be a key to client growth
Creativity and innovations impact on growth strategies for legal departments
Systematic programs for lawyer business development
Organic growth strategies through focusing practice specialties
Holistic approaches to improving client experience that drives client growth
and much more...

Executive summary vii

Part 1: Insight and Practice

Chapter 1: Aligning strategy, culture, and performance management with a growth agenda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
By Andrew Hedley, director of Hedley Consulting
The growth imperative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Strategic overview - The nature of growth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Exploring strategic options and choices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Positioning and Ansoff's generic strategies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Client retention and growth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Sales pursuit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Pricing strategy and robust financial hygiene . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Culture and performance management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
The recipe for growth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Chapter 2: Designing a key relationship program
- Getting started and process overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
By Robert Pay, director of business development (global shared services) at Alvarez & Marsal
Why a key relationship program? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Preconditions for successful adoption of a KRP..................... 17
Getting buy-in for the concept . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
The design process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Setting the program objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Relationship program design team . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Launching the concept . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Piloting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Launch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Barriers to key relationship programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Chapter 3: Let your clients be the guide to your strategic success . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
By Susan Pettit, founder and managing director of Client Central
The problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
The guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
The plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
The results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Chapter 4: Crafting a cross-selling culture shift: An eight-phased approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
By David H. Freeman, J.D., CEO of the David Freeman Consulting Group
Change the game . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Cross-serving as a catalyst for change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
The eight phases of a cross-serving culture shift . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Chapter 5: Lateral hiring can be key to client growth - If you do it right . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
By Ian Turvill, chief marketing officer of Freeborn & Peters LLP
Critical success factor 1 - Develop and communicate an explicit strategy for lateral hires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Critical success factor 2 - Recognize that successful integration begins long before and extends far after the hire date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Critical success factor 3 - Apply close scrutiny to performance versus plan and make course corrections over time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Chapter 6: Why creativity and innovation are the key to growth strategies for legal departments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
By Deepa Tharmaraj, legal director at Dell Inc
Creativity and innovation.................................................. 82
Why would an in-house legal team need to innovate? . . . . . . . . . . 84
How will in-house legal departments innovate? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
What tools are available to help us unlock the innovative
ideas? ............................................................................ 90
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Part 2: Case Studies
Case study 1: Fast forward - Driving top-line revenue for your law firm . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
By Jill Weber, chief marketing and business development officer at Stinson Leonard Street
An innovative idea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
An integrated approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
The power of first impressions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
The "Valley of Despair" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
A packaged product . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Case study 2: Stewarts Law's organic growth strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
By John Cahill, managing partner and co-founder of Stewarts Law
About Stewarts Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Our product . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Our people . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Our profitability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Improving product, people, and profitability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
The other stuff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
The results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Postscript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115