The Challenges Of Leadership Are Different To The Challenges Of Management

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A knowledge-led approach to business development is key to law firm resilience

Published in Managing Partner magazine July / August 2015 There is a nexus between business development and knowledge management that few firms exploit to the maximum; indeed, in many cases, they do not actively exploit at all. When boiled down to its base elements, all that a law firm does is leverage knowledge and relationships. […]
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Horizon Scanning To Identify And Capitalise On New Growth Opportunities

Published in Managing Partner magazine October 2015 Ted Levitt, the economist and business thinker who penned the game-changing Marketing Myopia in 1960, commented that “the future belongs to people who see possibilities before they become obvious”. His words capture the essence of the challenge faced by many legal professionals. In a world where the pace […]
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A strategic perspective on winning more business through pitches

Published in Managing Partner magazine September 2015 Law firms are being subjected to evermore demanding pitch and tendering processes. Larger firms have teams dedicated to the winning of such business, whilst smaller firms tend to have a client partner who leads the firm’s response to such opportunities. Across the spectrum, there are some overall guidelines which, […]
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Becoming change-able is the key to law firm success

Published in Managing Partner magazine May 2015 I am often asked ‘what is the most important capability that any management team should focus on developing in its people?’ My answer is always the same: it is the means to bring about change – to behaviours, to practices, to systems and structures. Having the ability to […]
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Using a competitive perspective to chart your law firm’s strategy

Published in Managing Partner magazine The core purpose of any strategy is to create sustainable competitive advantage. A critical strategic discussion centres on the choice of markets in which to compete and the kinds of activities which are involved in such markets.  Several models exist to chart market attractiveness and these tend to map the […]
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Investing in the Partners of the Future

Published in Managing Partner magazine December 2014 / January 2015   There was a time when, in order to be invited to join a UK partnership, the prerequisites were good lawyering skills, a long tenure at the firm and to be seen as a ‘good egg’ by the other partners. An aspiration for partnership was […]
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Answering the Big Strategic Questions with Honesty and Objectivity

Published in Managing Partner magazine November 2014   There are a small number of key strategic questions which any firm must be prepared to discuss, honestly and objectively, if it is to best equip itself to address future opportunities and mitigate threats. This will mean engaging in a partnership-level dialogue, which will be uncomfortable for […]
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Succession Planning Is Vital to Building A Sustainable Future For Your Law Firm

Published in Managing Partner magazine October 2014   As the legal industry finds itself once more on an expansion track, one consequence of a long period of recession and low growth is that the partnership age profile now appears somewhat imbalanced. Few firms have been able to offer partnership promotion to those who, in the […]
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Future Proofing Your Law Firm

Published in Managing Partner magazine September 2014   This is the first instalment of a new monthly Managing Partner column in which I shall examine how law firms can position themselves to create a future that is both profitable and sustainable – the concept of ‘futureproofing’. Achieving this future will mean being prepared to take […]
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Aligning Performance Management with Strategic Objectives

Published in Managing Partner magazine July / August 2014   What gets measured gets done’ is a universal truism that law firms regularly ignore when designing and implementing their performance management and reward systems. It is crucial that everything is aligned with the organisation’s strategic objectives. Many firms have moved (or are moving) towards using […]
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Using Scenarios to Explore Strategic Options

Published in Managing Partner magazine June 2014   In order to respond to fast changing and dynamic markets, any strategy needs to be able to accommodate unpredictable changes to future market and economic conditions. It is curious, therefore, that while most would accept that we live in an increasingly non-linear world, many strategies are still […]
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The Law Firm Merger: A Leader’s Guide to Strategy & Realisation

Published by ARK Group April 2014   THE LEGAL services market has undergone unprecedented change over the last decade. The Great Recession has been a catalyst to accelerate the pace of this change. At its core are structural changes in the profession and the deregulation of the legal services industry, leading to a fundamental reshaping […]
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Leading a Shared Vision For a Law Firm Merger

Published in Managing Partner magazine April 2014   In a strategy which is merger based, it is important that there is a clear vision of the future, which is easily understandable and provides a strong rationale as to why merger is the best option – illustrating both the opportunities that will be created as well […]
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Merger Chrysalis

Published in Managing Partner magazine March 2014 If you are tasked with delivering a merger, you have a huge amount of leading, persuading, cajoling and encouraging to do in order to realise your objective. Your audiences are both internal and external. Within your firm, you are responsible for understanding the mood of the wider partnership […]
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Driving for Growth

My Editorial Advisory Board blog for Managing Partner magazine http://www.managingpartner.com/blog/driving-your-law-firm-towards-more-aggressive-growth Activity levels are on the increase in the UK legal market. Has the corner been turned? Can we now be more confident that the much-vaunted green shoots of economic growth have finally taken hold? For the past twelve months, a growing swell of firms have […]
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Engaging the wider partnership in the merger process

Published in Managing Partner magazine December 2013   The manner in which the leadership team engages, communicates and builds consensus with its wider partner group is one of the most important opportunities and challenges in any merger. Without a strong collective will, focused on achieving a positive result and overcoming the inevitable challenges that will […]
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A merger can be a ‘Trojan Horse’ opportunity to transform your firm

Published in Managing Partner magazine November 2013 Don’t worry about the implementation, that’s tomorrow’s problem. Just focus on getting the deal done” figures high on the list of comments which betray the naivety of those negotiating mergers. Of course, it is also fair to say that such sentiments are understandable given the context of the […]
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Management opportunities and challenges in a merged firm

Published in Managing Partner magazine October 2013   Firms won’t become more commercially successful by being better at the law but, rather, by running a better legal services business. More proficient strategic thinking and better management, team working and communication are vital to ensuring sustainable performance enhancements, improved efficiency and increased revenues and profits. It […]
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How to win Partners’ Hearts and Minds for a Proposed Merger

Published in Managing Partner magazine An interesting point is reached in any merger discussion, at which the negotiating teams must set aside issues of market dynamics, strategy and positioning. Plans for operational change, efficiency improvements and rationalisation must also be sidelined. Even the development of compelling propositions to attract new clients and expand existing relationships […]
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Develop a Strategic Framework for Merger Communications

Published in Managing Partner magazine It is all too easy for those focused on the consummation of a merger (and with a deep knowledge of the transaction) to assume that its strategic logic will be selfevident. It is always wrong to presume that the benefits flowing from the union will be apparent to the combined […]
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Plan Ahead To Get Ahead (Part 2)

Published in Professional Marketing Magazine Alongside the setting of the firmwide strategy, planning should be conducted at the next level of detail whilst still considering issues in broad terms. These second tier plans will nest within the overarching strategy framework, both aligned with and subservient to it. Planning at this level allows the broader leadership […]
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The Power of Using Values to Drive Post-Merger Integration

Published in Managing Partner magazine Ignore the importance of cultural fit and strong shared values at your peril when merging firms. Cultural dissonance is one of the most common reasons that mergers fail to deliver their expected returns. Within law firms, for which common values and behaviours are crucial to creating cohesion, getting these aspects […]
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Fit For Purpose

Published in Managing for Success, the magazine of the Law Society’s Law Management Section The legal services market is witnessing an unprecedented level of merger activity. The legal press is full of news of firms either in discussions or announcing a deal, but there is also a swell of activity behind the scenes of firms […]
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Dealing with Deal Breakers in Merger Discussions

Published in Managing Partner magazine   In any merger discussion, there will be a limited number of areas which have the potential to be deal breakers. These range from issues of strategic significance to those of timing. In the first category are questions which challenge the longer- term logic of a deal which has few […]
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