Often I see practice groups and law firms come unstuck, not because they don't have great clients, partners or staff, but because the three are misaligned.
What do I mean by misaligned, I hear you (the voices in my head) ask?
Consider the technical, delivery partner working within an eat what you kill remuneration system.
Or the 'we offer work-life balance to our fee earners', but 'we promise to turn that draft around over the weekend to the client'.
Or we try and charge our clients premium prices, whilst nickel and diming the staff and paying below the prevailing market rate.
Or we operate in a highly competitive, price sensitive, commoditised part of the market; but our partner profit and staff salary expectations don't reflect this.
In each case, there is a fundamental tension between what is on offer to one vs. what is on offer to the other. Over extended periods of time, the operating model is unsustainable and starts to unravel.
It's one of themes that runs through The Legal MBA - the importance of articulating goals and targets up front, and then ensuring that your marketing strategy, your people strategy, your operations all align to deliver on those goals and targets.
When thinking about your legal practice or law firm, I'd encourage you to consider these different elements - not just in isolation, but as whole, working together.
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