Changing the Face of Legal Practice: The Lawyer, the Firm and its Operations

1. Changing the Face of Legal Practice: The Lawyer, the Firm and its Operations Tinuade T. Awe, Esq. NBA Section on Legal Practice 3rd Annual Conference November 5, 2009

2. Discussion Points • Professional Structure • Partner/Associate Development and Training • Skilled Non-Legal Staff

3. Professional Structure

4. The Personal • What is your purpose for establishing your practice? • Do YOU want to look back and say: “I have run the good race?” or • Do you want to build an institution that will outlive you? • Your purpose need not be static through the life of your practice

5. Non-Personal Forces, Trends, and Issues Affecting the Profession Post 9-11(e.g., anti-money laundering regs.) Global economic meltdown The many influences of technology Legal Profession Significant changes in certain sectors of the economy Quality of legal talent entering the profession Globalization of legal practice and international law firm mergers Changes to billing practices and changed client expectations The prospect of multi-disciplinary practices and unconventional competition

6. Professional Characteristics • Notwithstanding the myriad of externalities, we, generally: • Are ultra-conservative • Have a precedent and fact-based thinking process so we are not usually professionally equipped to engage in scenario planning (future variances, uncertainties, possibilities etc) • Are better at extrapolating from the past than predicting the future

7. Whatever the Structure, Some Matters are Non-Negotiable • Nimble and adaptable • Responsive • Provide timely yet, cost effective service • Organized to serve clients in an efficient manner

8. Possible Structures • Firm ownership vested in one person • Associates leave to establish own firms • Remain employees forever • Partnerships of different variations and hues • More or less equals come together • Practice mergers • Patriarch builds and family forms initial source of partners to which non-family members are subsequently added • Possible perception issues around non-family partners • International partnerships/representative offices • Global networks

9. It is amazing how much you can accomplish when it doesn’t matter who gets the credit. Harry S. Truman, 33rd POTUS (1945 – 1953)

10. The Cravath Model(Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP) • Paul D. Cravath and Robert T. Swaine developed turn of the century law firm model • Objective • Development and implementation a professional ideology of meritocracy based on quality standards of professional performance • Hierarchal structure of equity partners and associates • Team relationship that de-emphasizes individual work product • Development of proper recruitment procedures • Systematic training of associates • Promotion to partnership – ship up or shape out • Specialization • Use of technology

11. Structural Changes to the Cravath Model • Running the firm like a business concern • Involving non-legal expertise in management of firm (e.g., Nixon Peabody MD/COO position) • Operations, HR, Finance, PR and Marketing, Information Systems, Knowledge management • Multi-tiered partnerships • Profits, liabilities, votes, associate satisfaction, PEP rankings • Equity and non-equity • note liability concerns as a result of holding out in malpractice litigation • Devaluing the crowing glory? • Lockstep and encroaching thereon • Practice management • Sense of ownership for partners outside of management/executives

12. Cravath’s Goal • “For nearly two centuries, [Cravath] has been known as the premier American law firm. . . . We are not, and never will be, the largest law firm measured by number of offices or lawyers. Our goal is to be the firm of choice for clients with respect to their most challenging legal issues, most significant business transactions and most critical disputes.” (Emphasis added.) http://www.cravath.com/Cravath.html

13. Strategic Planning • Self assessment • Culture, Goals, Marketing and Differentiation, Training, Business and Business Development, Image, Change (ability to withstand/ adapt), Succession plans • Analysis of data • Draft objectives for consideration of partners (other stakeholders) • Implementation of strategic plan following buy-in • NOTE: Combination of the traditional, iterative plans with scenario planning so that you do not ignore broader trends that present real opportunities or potential threats • Get professional help

14. Partner and associate development and Training

15. What Tasks do They Perform? • Work on fee producing work for clients • Practice development • Business development • Branding and image development • Management and administrative tasks • Recruiting

16. Associate Development and Training (1) • Hiring with attitude in mind • Attending conferences is not sufficient training • Classroom type training using check lists and experiential training through a well-considered work assigning process • Training should include but not be limited to: • Orientation and cultural inculcation (document) • Substantive legal areas • Management, delegation, and supervision (especially for mid-levels) • Time management skills • Communication skills (emotional intelligence) • Team building

17. Associate Development and Training (2) • Clarity with respect to partnership • Black box? (What is the track, factors) • Performance evaluation program (PEPs and informal feedback) • Involvement in recruiting • Expanded recruitment committees that include associates • Intangible issues around cultural fits • Formalize recruiting procedures (forms, questionnaires) • Mentoring • Formal or/and informal

18. Associate Development and Training (3) • Marketing and business development • Eat what you kill vs. Lockstep vs. Performance based system • Client teams (stop hoarding the client!!) • Methodology to compensate senior lawyers for sharing clients with juniors • Cross-selling across practice groups to create several in-roads into the client • Help and encourage associates to develop personal marketing plans and reward them • Mentoring • Formal and informal

19. Associate Development and Training (4) • Encourage professional activity, including: • Writing articles, notes in various media • Professional blogging • Support activity in professional associations, do not limit them to minding the door and registration at conferences • Visibility at legal conferences through giving papers and presentations • Give them training opportunities with your clients and colleagues via the new CLE requirements • Client notes

20. Partner Development and Training (1) • Everything we have said about associates applies • Especially marketing and business development • Professional activity • A thorough vetting via the partnership selection process • Rain making ability • Performance and work ethic • Cultural dynamics (be careful with laterals) • Succession planning • You cannot over emphasize the importance of leadership development and grooming to take over the reins of management • Depending on size of firm, committee structure helps to develop leadership potential

21. Partner Development and Training (2) • Practice groups • Dependent on size of firm • Should be done in accordance with your strategic and business development plans • Lead to a feeling of ownership beyond just being a partner

22. Partner Development and Training (3)Marketing • Marketing must be based on differentiation • Susan Raridon Lambreth of the Hildebrandt Institute has written extensively on business development and marketing for law firms. • According to her, there are four factors that are relevant to successful marketing “How do you Differentiate Your Practice Group From the Masses?” http://www.hildebrandt.com/Publications/Pages/PublicationDetail.aspx?PublicationGuid=062832e9-3990-4c8a-a5f1-b595ea349d00

23. Susan Lambreth’s Fourth Factor

24. Retreats • Retreats are a great avenue for associate and partner development • But, they are expensive and mean that valuable time is spent away from the lawyers’ primary role of engaging in fee producing work • Therefore, there is no use retreating unless you are planning to gain something valuable from the retreat • Planning • What? (training opportunity, management decisions, self adulation and congratulations on past successes) • Who? (legal and non-legal?)

25. Some Suggested Reading • Five Minds of the Future by Howard Gardner • Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap . . . and Others Don’t by Jim Collins • Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies by Jim Collins and Jerry I. Porras • High Noon: 20 Global Problems and 20 Years to Solve Them by J.F. Rischard • The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century By Thomas L. Friedman • Understanding by Design: Six Facets of Understanding by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe • The Audacity of Hope by Barrack Obama • A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers will Rule the Future by Daniel H. Pink • Creating an Environment for Successful Projects by Robert J. Graham and Randall L. Englund • Becoming a Real-Time Enterprise by Behnam N. Tabrizi • Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwells

26. Skilled Non-Legal Staff

27. Types of Non-Legal Staff • Several types but let’s consider • Legal Administrators • Paralegals

28. Legal Administrators • The greatest changes have come among this class of non-legal staff in law firms • The position has evolved from office manager position to someone who provides leadership with strategic planning, practice development, geographical expansion, marketing, hiring both legal and non-legal staff • Several departments and reporting relationships, depending on size of firm • Cost center and tension • A lot of added value added but tensions in leadership if the relationship is not properly managed • Very highly skilled • MBAs and consulting firm exiles are taking up these positions • The Certified Legal Manager (CLM) professional certification offered by the Association of Legal Administrators

29. Paralegals (1) • They assist the lawyer in carrying out the legal functions • Very important because they are fee earners • Not peers with lawyers so possible areas of tension with attorneys are minimized • In many jurisdictions, paralegals perform substantive legal work that requires knowledge of legal concepts • Could be very cost effective for the client • But be careful not to engage in legal practice with a non-lawyer • You are responsible for ensuring that they comply with ethical obligations, including client confidentiality, misuse of client information, and avoiding conflicts of interest • It is important to have written policies to guide your paralegals and lawyers • Set limits of what your paralegals can do • No taking on cases • No legal advice

30. Paralegals (2) • Training • An in-house training is essential, just as you have training for lawyers • Used to be primarily on the job • But now, you have associations providing certifications and diplomas, e.g., National Association of Licensed Paralegals in the U.K. • See, http://www.nationalparalegals.com/paralegal_career_path.htm

31. Several Associations for Non-Legal Staff • Association of Legal Administrators (U.S.) • National Association of Licensed Paralegals (U.K.) • National Federation of Paralegal Associations (U.S.) • Institute of Legal Secretaries and PAs (U.K.) • The New Zealand Institute of Legal Executives • Institutes for Legal Executives (Australia) • More than one in different regions of Australia • Initiative of the Australian Government in the mid-1960s

32. Contacts Tinuade T. Awe, Esq. Mun2Solutions 21 Sariyu Adebisi Street Off Aare Avenue New Bodija, Ibadan Oyo State +234 8077248139; +234 8095202458 tinuawe@gmail.com