By: ED POLL//June 12, 2013//
Before 2008 the world of the law was a wonderful place. Many large and even mid-sized law firms went their own merry ways, happily assuming that high associate salaries and partner draws, rising rates and the occasional leveraged merger with another firm was a pattern that would continue indefinitely.
Then came the Great Recession, and like overindulgent partiers on the morning after New Year’s Eve, law firms swore that they had learned their lessons:
Perhaps some firms actually meant it. Yet five years later a good case could be made that these “lessons” have been forgotten. The 2013 Altman Weil Law Firms in Transition survey of leaders at nearly 800 U.S. law firms with 50 or more lawyers shows that “business as usual” remains in 2007 mode for many of them:
It is inevitable that larger firms that approach “The Business of Law®” this way will continue to falter. Neither the 1 percent of the corporate world on which they focus, nor the 99 percent of individuals and smaller companies that generate most legal work, will tolerate such self-centeredness in their lawyers.
Lawyers must pay close attention to the needs and wants of their clients. Large firms didn’t grow without being attentive to client needs, and all lawyers will need to be more attentive in the future if they expect to retain client loyalty – and business.