Operational Improvement

Operational Improvement engagement for a leading Practice Group of an European firm, the group consisting of 30 lawyers. This group had been experiencing increased international competition affecting the attraction and retention of both clients and talent, and performance had slipped as a consequence. During a six month retainer, we reviewed the group’s strategy, undertook a significant face-to-face client/referrer feedback process (some twenty clients and referrers), facilitated the groups business plans, helped tighten up time-recording, reviewed working practices and knowledge management and coached the group’s partners in leadership skills.

Business Development Program

A large international firm was concerned that partners in various locations were operating as “free agents” in their marketing efforts.  To develop a common business development experience base, the firm engaged Edge International to facilitate an ongoing series of training programs in every office of the firm.  The program was designed to use exercises that stimulated cross-office business development efforts, and resulted in an increase in multi-office engagements and a much greater comfort level among partners in joint marketing activities.

Market Orientation

A firm in a “rust belt” city had been unsuccessful in identifying a merger partner.  As an alternative, they wanted to position themselves as “the” go-to law firm in their city.  Edge International performed a sophisticated study of the marketplace that involved interviewing a large number of businesses.  We determined the areas where growth was most likely to occur in the city, and the firm positioned itself to build both expertise and reputation in those areas. The firm has risen to the point where they are the most profitable firm in the city.

Industry Specialization to Add Value to Clients

A large general practice firm had two clients actively involved in a highly specialized chemical process.  The firm felt its operating and technical experience about the products manufactured and the product liability and environmental issues involved would be valuable to other manufacturers.  We assisted the firm in creating its first industry group, creating internal information flows for industry-related information, gaining a position on the board of the leading trade association serving the industry, and using technical writers to assist in generating a column on legal/business issues for each issue of the industry’s trade magazine.  The result was that the firm began representation of two additional companies and handled a client’s acquisition of several companies that would normally have gone to specialized M&A counsel.

Countless Assignments Providing Leadership Development

We have undertaken countless assignments providing leadership development, high level executive coaching and ongoing support and mentoring for both new as well as highly experienced leaders in various roles within law firms. Many of our partners have practical experience of running large successful legal organisations. Coupled with hands-on practical experience over many decades we can bring ongoing strategic and practical advice to leaders as and when they arise during the course of such assignments.

Identifying and Developing Leadership Potential

A well-established, long-standing firm believed it had “run out of leaders” and it was about to look outside the firm. We were called in to review their circumstances and came to the view that there were a number of potential leaders within their ranks as well as much unrealised leadership potential. The assignment required some restructuring, a new attitude to leadership development and acceptance by partners of new responsibilities and accountabilities. Over time they were able to develop their own leadership and succession into the future.

Restructuring Leadership

A blue-chip international firm had started to face declining revenues and the loss of clients. We assisted the firm in restructuring its leadership structures, emphasizing the pivotal leadership roles of partners and their lawyer–teams, as well as practice and industry sector group leadership and coupled this with an extensive leadership development program for partners and potential partners. In conjunction with this we brought a focus to bear on the development of support service management leadership, something which does not get enough attention in many firms. This was linked to a new approach to partner performance management with an emphasis on developmental feedback and support.

Partner Performance

A high-performing, extremely profitable firm started to feel competitive pressure. They were convinced that it was necessary to implement some form of partner performance management system. They had made three attempts in recent years to introduce such systems but little progress had been made. We were asked to assist and recognised the importance of aligning such a system to the firm’s culture and to use language which made sense to the partners of this firm. Partners were extensively consulted as to the criteria they felt would further drive the firm’s success. We were able to engage partners and build their confidence in the process and objectives and also to persuade them to introduce new criteria to encourage new, positive partner behaviours.

Merger Negotiation

A real estate boutique in a Southwestern city was being courted by a large local firm to join their real estate department. We assisted the boutique in negotiating their merger while creating a retirement buyout as part of the transaction for the firm’s two founding partners. Subsequently, we were hired by the acquiring firm to advise them in two similar mergers with smaller firms.

Implementing Conditions for Regional Merger

Two similarly sized firms in separate large cities on either end of a state were discussing consolidation to compete more effectively with large out-of-state firms that were entering their market. Each firm had a small office in each other’s city. We assisted the firms in working out the details of merging their partner compensation systems, consolidating their offices in each city, working out the details of combining a partnership with a professional corporation that operated on different fiscal years, and dealing with underproductive partners who were not invited to join the combined firm. The merger took effect within less than 100 days after discussions commenced and continues to operate successfully.