Welcome to Part 2 of our mini-series on mid-market (see Part 1 here). Picture the scene. Imagine a typical regional town, with a well-established network of mid-market law firms. Life went along fine for a few hundred years, but recently the clients started to face ever-increasing business complexities and regulatory challenges. Just like every client everywhere.

As the importance and fee-potential of the work increased, so Big Law started to take notice. What was once a fly over town, en route between big cities, became a target territory. After all, mid-market firms have been eating Big Law's lunch for years, pivoting off being more agile and hungrier, while having lower overheads and a more client-centric approach. Oftentimes, the client would migrate to a mid-market firm so quietly that the Big Law firm didn't take notice. 

Now the tables have turned. Big Law has come to town and the battle at the lunch counter is on. So who will win, and how?

In the battle for the hearts and minds of clients on this patch, Big Law will say all the usual big law things. We have a national and international footprint. We have deep bench strength. We have experience in complex problems like this. All good points, all true.

Many mid-market firms are now wondering how to differentiate themselves and defend their turf. The answer is that they already have a set of cards which, played right, can be a winner. Their first strategic advantage is that, on their own patch, they are the incumbents. Let's remind ourselves of the top hiring criteria for in house counsel, as revealed at Legalweek. Expertise and client knowledge came out way ahead of other considerations. Then came rates way behind, and then geography which was even further down the list.

Multiple ALM surveys have reiterated that, more than anything, clients want outside counsel who understand their industry, their business and their risk appetite. This is precisely why we say in Lean Adviser that your current assignment is your passport to repeat business. Take full advantage of your chance to get to know and understand your client.

All of which plays into the hands of the sitting mid-market firm. They are inherently leaner and they already have the client knowledge. So long as they have the expertise, the next job is theirs to lose. It's all in the "doing" as you execute the current assignment. Understand the client, horizon scan for them, tailor your expertise and advise through a client-centric prism. Some of this won't be billable, but the entrepreneurial mid-market firms will understand that. It has value, and it buys loyalty.

If you think Big Law hasn't figured this out, think again. These buying preferences apply to clients in all markets. This is precisely why Big Law is keen to get lean, and why there is a hiring spree for Legal Project Managers. The danger to mid-market firms isn't Big Law being Big Law, it's Big Law competing on mid-market methods. The Big Law firm that can combine bench strength with client-centricity and other mid-market methods, has a real chance of disrupting stable relationships.