The Law Firm Leadership Crisis: Why No One Wants the Managing Partner Job

It’s the job of a lifetime. Or the job absolutely no one wants.

I have worked with at least 4 high PEP firms where no one wanted to lead. The managing partners were ready to step down. No one wanted to step up. They all merged. At other firms, runoff elections pit eager candidates against each other in tense leadership battles. Leadership isn’t for everyone – or sometimes anyone.

Internationally recognized consultant Patrick J. McKenna and I just finished our 5^th law firm leader survey to find out what defines today’s managing partners – and how they are different from emeritus leaders.

The results are revealing and stark – with implications for anyone working in a law firm. More than 90 current and former leaders shared their experiences. The results look like this:

Catalyzing Change Rules The Roost

Law firms are now too big to build consensus for every decision. The partners place their trust in managing partners who will make the decision. Current leaders point to collaboration as a key part of the job 14.1% of the time – down from 21.6% for emeritus leaders. This decline underscores the shift toward centralized decision-making.

A New Kind of Leadership Load

More centralized decision-making demands more personal and emotional stamina. These leaders face scrutiny and questioning as they enter the role. They earn – and have to keep earning – this trust every day. These leaders also know the decisions are only getting bigger, and at an unprecedented rate.

Staff and Advisors Gain Influence and Sway

Partner collaboration used to be the managing partner sounding board. But collaborating with hundreds or thousands of partners is next to impossible.

Advice and counsel will fill one of the roles partner collaborations used to: diversity of opinion. And smart opinions. New leaders look to the professionals who bring insight knowledge and creativity. The emeritus leaders played a key role in breaking ground to put these professionals in place – the current leader will now leverage and continue to build out this strategic asset.

The Personal Toll is Rising

“Challenge” rises to the top of the list of words to describe the roles of current leaders. They talk about the role as “all-encompassing,” “intense,” and “demanding” – all a result of individual workloads.

Emeritus leaders spoke more to the challenges posed by underutilization and understaffing. They are more focused on systems and protocols than individual overload.

But – “Rewarding” appeared 20% more often with the current leader than emeritus leaders – indicating the toll is well worth it.

How All This Changes Law Firm Leadership

Law firm leaders are managing billions of dollars – up from millions. They are managing thousands or hundreds of attorneys instead of dozens or hundreds. All in just 5 years. This means:

Leadership roles are moving from a collaborative, structurally-supported model to an individually-driven, high-intensity experience. This intensity is driving new strategies for delegation including adding more:

• Vice chairs
• Business professionals to the staff
• Responsibilities to business professionals
• Opportunities for advancement for business professionals

This is all good news for anyone looking for opportunities and challenges in the legal world. The personal strains invite aggressive opportunity seekers to offer advice, offload decisions, provide data and generally make it easier for managing partners to make decisions. Managing partners are hopeful these people step up – as these leaders look to enjoy the rewards making it all worth it – growth and highly successful firms.

Download a complimentary copy of the full report here.