Leading people in law is a unique, complex challenge. The demands on the time of partners – client development, casework, contributing to firm leadership, managing and leading direct reports, and family – are real and extensive.

Combined with the billable hours imperative and the traditional command and control nature of law firm leadership, it is no surprise that the default, some say entrenched, leadership culture of law firms is hard to significantly evolve, even for those law leaders who want to.

Because practising law is based on subject matter expertise and reducing risk, its leaders tend to feel the need to keep a close eye on the work of their people and correct it when necessary. The financial rewards of partnership magnify the sense of need, and justification, law leaders feel in “making sure the work is right”.

Law firms are particularly prone to a self-fulfilling trap of leadership - the inherent logic of a person being promoted. Most leaders are promoted to leadership roles because of their subject matter expertise or competence in their field. The inherent message to them of being promoted is that their knowledge and way of doing things is right.

As a result they, often unconsciously, assume that their way is the best way and adopt a command and control leadership style to ensure their people do things as they believe to be right. Law, with much at stake when things go wrong, is a prime context for this leadership mistake.

But leadership based on oversight and control is at odds with contemporary best-practice, where empowering and developing people are increasingly the focus. 

As law heads into new, disrupting, digital territory (Law 3.0), and younger lawyers with different workplace needs and wants (eg. compensation assessment transparency) join the sector, law leaders face a real leadership challenge.

So what skills do law leaders need to get this balance of traditional law firm quality control and the requirements of modern, disrupted workplaces right? 

New-style leaders

Law 3.0 is about strategic leadership. How will law firms change their business models to profitably supply legal services in the technology-driven ways that companies will wish to buy?

Its relevance to leading people lies in understanding what leadership will help people best deliver Law 3.0 businesses models?

Law 3.0 leadership is about change. This change-focus around law leadership is vital because 70% of organisational change projects fail (McKinsey, 2015) and frequently do so not because of technical issues like implementing technology but because of adaptive, people-based, challenges. Leadership is a vital part of change programmes overcoming adaptive, people, challenges … or not.

The trend for specialist senior professionals, experts in areas such as finance and marketing rather than lawyers who show an affinity for these disciplines, joining law firms in leadership roles shows growing recognition and a maturing of attitudes in law firms to management and leadership.

And just as more non-lawyers are entering the leadership roles of law firms, more attention is being paid to leadership and its development in law firms. Leading firms are investing in leadership and team development.

These are some of the leadership challenges in law. There are more. But, as with any change, looking outside a system can provide rich insights and ideas on how to change the system. Law can look beyond itself to leadership across sectors and society to find direction on how to best evolve.

Inclusion and empowerment

Outside law, leadership is changing quickly. That change is about inclusive, empowering, high-trust leadership that places a priority on the development of talent. This requires leaders to be authentic, empathetic, transparent and supportive.

Can leadership best-practice from outside law be applied in law? Yes, it can. Some aspects of leadership practice may differ but the profession could gain much from bringing in widespread leadership learning.

Leadership development is constantly, organically, happening. It cannot be stopped as leaders learn in the school of reality. But it is a largely random and unplanned pathway to high-performing leadership. 

High-quality, proactive leadership development leverages and enhances an executive’s real-world leadership development by using it as raw material in a proactive, planned leadership development programme. When real-world leadership challenges and successes are framed in evidence-based insights and tools, the result, for willing-to-learn leaders, is profound gains in leadership skills, confidence and effectiveness.

The development of leadership in an executive, in any discipline, is in two directions; horizontally and vertically. Horizontal development refers to adding competencies and skills. Vertical development advances the mindsets and mental capabilities of a leader.

The importance of vertical development is underestimated. Few leadership skills are effective without confidence, belief, empathy, vulnerability and resilience.

What steps could you take to advance leadership in your firm? 

Thank you for reading.

You may want to know more about Archetype Leadership Development Services.