A less gilded future for lawyers?

The May 5th article in The Economist on the legal profession (A less gilded future) had some interesting quotes that related to my webinar on Executive Level Business Development for Lawyers.

The Economist article had several points related to the importance of teaching lawyers to be businesspeople.  Due to the need to run law firms in a more business-like manner, as well as a way to differentiate thier services to corporate clients who are demanding more linkage between value and fees. 

The excerpt below from The Economist points out how important sophisticated branding will be to help firms grow in a zero sum economy.  But it also mentions what my webinar was all about…that the key differentiator for lawyers going forward will something more than just improved business development skills and branding.

Ultimately, lawyering is becoming more of a business than a profession. Some lawyers decry this. Others welcome it. Few deny it. Because the American market cannot grow as it used to, firms will have to find new strategies and make use of sophisticated branding to stand out.

Mr. Leite suggests one way lawyers can guarantee themselves work: by becoming experts in other industries, not just areas of legal practice. Young lawyers can learn from being seconded to clients. And American law schools are slowly trying to instill some business acumen into future lawyers, though in Europe and elsewhere law remains distressingly academic.

Woven into an enhanced business development skill set will be the need to have the type of business acumen that allows lawyers to resonate at the C-level and thus separate themselves from the pack of other capable technicians.

What good, will sophisticated branding do if the lawyers at your firm aren’t effective brand ambassadors?  Particularly damaging to those branding efforts will be lawyers that can’t carry the message to a new level and differentiate themselves and the firm from the host of other lawyers out there that do high-quality legal work.

Unfortunately most business development programs at law firms are still teaching the same basics they were ten years ago.  While fundamentals need to be in place, the stakes are being raised by a few select firms and those top rainmakers that realize that market share will go to those who position themselves as sophisticated consultants who solve their client’s key business issues through a combination of their top-notch legal skills wrapped around insightful business expertise.

The Economist article says at the end, “many bosses of law firms realize that the profession is changing in ways that will be uncomfortable for some.”  However, for CMOs, law firm executives and partners that are willing to lead instead of follow, innovation and new approaches will allow them to put Blue Ocean between themselves and their competition.

As in all changing industries there is a choice as to whether the future will be less gilded.  One only has to look at the video rental business as an example of how status-quo thinking lead to the demise of an iconic brand (Blockbusters), while a lucrative new model was emerging right under their nose (NetFlix & Red Box).

It is always a little dangerous to compare consumer oriented businesses with sophisticated professional services, but the illustration is useful if it at least gets us to realize that staying on the course of "business-as-usual" might not be the wisest path.