It's that time again, as we close the book on the year gone and plan the year ahead. On the client side of the market, many GCs are still facing all the familiar challenges, only with less budget and more to achieve. But for many law firms, the mood is altogether brighter. This is the season for business plans, budgets and compensation discussions, and for most, the past year went much better than expected. Demand for M&A, real estate and litigation were up. For many firms, revenues were up, travel costs and other overheads were down, and profit targets were met or even exceeded. For these firms, the sense may be that they have adapted to the pandemic and all is well.

But did law firms really get through the year unscathed, or is this just what they tell themselves based on surface data? This is the time when law firm leaders plan how to go again, and do even better. Planning is the first foundation of the Lean Adviser program, and the parallels are clear. In the context of a client assignment, Lean Adviser has modules on goal setting, managing expectations, identifying resources, and planning methods of work-delivery. This is essentially what law firm leaders are contemplating at the beginning of the year. Those who look "up and out" will see that their clients are still unhappy, and still facing huge challenges. Those who look "down and in" will see an operating model which has become vulnerable to the talent war. As we discuss in Lean Adviser, if you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail.

Here is our laundry list of three areas to consider:

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  • Goal Setting: In any project in manufacturing, the first question is always "what does good look like?" This is a great question for law firms, and it has two limbs:
    1. What does client satisfaction look like? To law firms it looks like repeat business, but really that's just the outcome, not how to create it. The deeper question is how do clients actually want outside counsel to operate? This unanswered question is the reason Lean Adviser was created.
    2. What does associate satisfaction look like? This question has become top of mind for law firm leaders. Just as repeat business is only the outcome of client satisfaction, so good retention is the outcome of associate satisfaction. But if associate satisfaction is a real goal, which it should be, then this poses much deeper questions about inclusive leadership — and of course culture.
  • Planning Resources: This is easy to define and hard to solve. We know that firms only have one resource — talent. The challenge is planning how to fill talent in the right areas, at the right levels, and then retain these talented lawyers. A challenge that has become more difficult with the ongoing war for talent.
  • Planning Methods: This is the piece which is easiest to miss, but actually goes a long way to answer the previous questions. One of our key tenets is that methods matter. They matter to clients, and they matter to associates. So considered planning is vital. Again, this has two limbs:
    1. Working methods affect client satisfaction. Expertise is a given, and so method of delivery is the thing they care about most, and the biggest differentiator.
    2. Working methods affect resources, meaning acquiring and retaining talent. Right now, law firm leaders are trying to plan for the return to office and for ongoing remote operations. These practical things affect associate satisfaction, but don't forget the key behaviors and soft skills which we identified in the previous lesson.