Editor’s foreword

I WOULD like to welcome you to the first US issue of Managing Partner. The magazine, which aims to provide practical guidance in effective law-firm management, was launched in the UK over nine years ago. Since then, it has become an important tool for law firms looking to transform their partnerships into the competitive businesses of today.

While the UK magazine has enjoyed a growing readership from law firms in the US, we felt the time was right to launch a dedicated magazine, which would focus on the management issues directly impacting legal business in the US. By including case studies, opinion and comments from managing partners and senior management professionals in US law firms, we also felt that we could best address the needs and requirements your legal business faces today, by gathering and sharing with you the insights of your peers.

In forthcoming issues, you will read case studies, practical masterclasses, interviews and profile features, opinion pieces, news round-ups, and more. Topics will cover every aspect of management, including financial and risk management, change management and leadership, marketing and business development, client-relationship management, the strategic use of technology, and knowledge management. The objective will be to provide you with the highest level of strategic advice to help you manage your firm better.

For instance, firms now face major decisions regarding expansion activities. As this month’s cover story argues, many firms equate bigger with richer, placing pressure on their organisations to expand more rapidly than ever before. Where US firms have traditionally been seen as reluctant to open offices internationally, recent years have seen a surge in firms opening offices across the globe. For some, this may be akin to opening a Pandora’s box, unleashing inestimable operational, jurisdictional and cultural complications. But many continue to perceive geographical expansion, whether on a national or international stage, as the key to greater profit.

As the cover-story comments of consultants Bruce MacEwen and David Maister, and Fenwick & West’s managing partner, Kate Fritz, demonstrate, staying small can be advantageous, not only in enabling a firm to maintain its focus on core strengths, but in ensuring the firm can effectively manage existing resources to ensure sustained profitability.

Taking the strategic decision to limit growth, however, can be a tough call, especially if competitors appear to be hell-bent on going national or even global.

Apart from key profitability concerns, this launch issue also addresses brand management in the wake of organisational change; knowledge management and how firms can tap firm-wide expertise; making a success of the client-feedback process; and getting client and industry teams to work. All in all, we hope you agree that this issue reflects many of the major management issues facing law firms today.

Of course, this is only the first of a regular instalment of Managing Partner, as we will be publishing ten issues a year. In that time, there may be many concerns or topics you would like to see addressed in greater detail. Or you may be interested in contributing some of your own thoughts and experiences to the ongoing debate. In either case, please do not hesitate to contact me at cpoynton@ark-group.com.

Caroline Poynton
Editor

Features

Opinion: Herding cats and leading lawyers Free
According to recent studies, lawyers are particularly good problem solvers with a high sense of urgency. But a preference for ‘thinking’ over ‘feeling’ can make them both poor leaders and followers. By Mark Beese, marketing director, Holland & Hart

Developing successful client and industry teams Free
Firms are familiar with bringing people together into teams, but most still struggle to make them work effectively and efficiently for better internal operation and client service. By Julia Hayhoe and Terri Pepper Gavulic, Hildebrandt International

Client-feedback programs: From theory to action Free
Many law firms now talk about the importance of client feedback, but few manage the process well, or act upon the recommendations given. Getting it right, however, could provide a significant step to competitive advantage. By Laura Meherg, Meherg Consulting

An international approach to knowledge management Free
An effective knowledge-management strategy on a local level may seem feasible to most firms, but extending it to multiple offices across an international marketplace is a very different proposition. By Aileen Johnson, head of professional development systems, Ashurst

Knowledge management: E-mail and beyond Free
Tapping firm-wide expertise often relies on e-mail messages, informal lawyer relationships, searches of the document-management system, and best-practice documents, perhaps accessed via a KM portal. While effective tools to a degree, the KM team at Littler Mendelson thought they could do better. By Ron Freidman, president, Prism Legal Consulting

Building a brand at Goodwin Procter Free
When Goodwin Procter agreed its overall vision to become a national firm with international reach, it led to an overhaul of the firm’s existing organisational structure. Effective marketing and brand management quickly followed. By Anne Malloy Tucker, chief marketing officer, Goodwin Procter LLP

True profits Free
It is easy to assume that profit and the size of a law firm are closely linked, especially with fierce competition among firms in recent years to gain global market share. But some firms are using different business models to put them head and shoulders above the rest. By Keiran Flatt, US correspondent

Profile: Gregory S. Gallopoulos Free
As managing partner of Jenner & Block LLP, Gregory Gallopoulos may be cautious over expanding the firm too rapidly, but, as he tells Caroline Poynton, he still has plenty of ambitions for business and personal growth.

Regulars

Thought leader Free
IN FINALISING the content for this launch issue of Managing Partner, I spent some time at our office in Chicago. My plan was to meet as many lawyers and law firms from this central US ‘hub’ as possible. It was therefore somewhat strange that I should first meet Greg Gallopoulos, managing partner of the Chicago firm Jenner & Block, in London. By Caroline Poynton, editor

US event report: Competitive Intelligence as a Legal Marketing Partner Free
Ark Group USA organises a large number of legal conferences and masterclasses covering subjects such as knowledge management, strategic marketing, client-feedback programs and human-capital development. But the title of its recent masterclass, ‘Competitive Intelligence as a Legal Marketing Partner’, was particularly intriguing.