Last November Above the Law published an article titled: IN-HOUSE COUNSEL New Study: GCs Have Brought The Majority Of Work In-House.

I found this quote interesting:

51% of in-house legal teams report that more than half of their legal activities are now conducted internally. The biggest challenge in-house legal teams are trying to solve by bringing more legal services in-house is controlling costs, followed by completing tasks efficiently.

I am not surprised by the survey results. In 2018, the majority of clients want more and want to pay less. At the same time, they perceive their law firms are focused on what’s in it for the law firm rather than focused on what’s in it for the client.

In May, The American Lawyer published: Managing Partners’ Frustration Mounts as Law Firm Innovation Stagnates. 

A record 68.6 percent of leaders said the No. 1 reason they aren’t doing more to change their legal service delivery model is because partners resist efforts to change. That number has jumped from 44 percent in 2015, which made it the third most-cited reason that firms aren’t doing more to change.

Many law firm partners have made enough money to be content. They are not focused enough on what their clients want, need and in 2018, demand. I laugh at the vision of a law firm web page with the branding slogan:

“We Aren’t Innovative Or Efficient, But We Are No Worse Than Other Law Firms.”

So what can law firm leaders do about this?

Begin by focusing on your clients. Ask them to share with you ways you can deliver greater value. Listen to what they say and ask further questions.

When you are finished, gather a group of lawyers in your firm and brainstorm ideas on how to deliver greater value to clients. When you come up with a plan, figure out a way to make sure you are delivering greater value and continually ask for feedback from your clients.

And, finally…Reward Innovation and Efficiency.