New law firm leaders bring change. And some are bringing aggressive change — trying to bend the legal landscape to their advantage. If this means crushing you like a bug — no worries — it’s just business. They plan to win and win big.

In 2015 the largest 30 law firms wanted to crush you like a bug. Now — it’s next-generation law firm leaders’ turn. They want to win big — see no barriers to doing so — and are moving to make it happen.

Overall, our survey of 110 law firm leaders reveals 5 core strategies or subsets of thinking about the market. They look like this:

• Crush you like a bug at 9.8%
• There is enough for everyone at 15.2%
• On a battlefield — winning some and losing some at 66.7%
• Chasing the competition at 4.5%
• Only a few competitors to worry about at 3.8%

Crush you like a bug (9.8%)

These mostly Am Law 31-100 firms don’t believe there are any structural boundaries to their ability to grow — in virtually any market. They are:

• • Undertaking aggressive, large-scale lateral hiring
  • Targeting top clients and markets
  • Building infrastructure to support growth

These firms’ leaders assumed their role 30 months ago or less — they are the next generation to take the reins. They relish taking on the status quo and breaking convention. They see themselves as setting the pace for other firms and leading the market.

There is enough for everyone (15.2%)

These firms believe they will get their share of growth. They largely plan to grow with the market or through rate increases. They don’t see themselves aggressively picking up new clients or adding a substantial number of laterals.

On a battlefield — winning some and losing some (66.7%)

2/3 of law firm leaders see themselves fighting for clients and market share. They expect to win clients and lose clients. They are happy with their place in the market — at least for now.

Chasing the competition (4.5%)

These firms see themselves as behind the curve. Most are losing clients and finding it harder to land new business. They realize upping their game is a key to long-term success. They feel like the firm is resistant to boosting business development performance.

Only a few competitors to worry about (3.8%)

A small but important group of leaders don’t think about competition. They are committed to their strategy and see tracking competition as a distraction.

The law firms who want to crush you like a bug could easily be targeting your laterals and clients. The presence of even a small group of aggressive firms puts all others on notice: protect your partner ranks and clients.

We expect an increase in the number of the most aggressive firms — making it more difficult for everyone else. Considering only 35% of clients recommend their primary law firm to a peer — the market is ripe for the aggressive, client-savvy firms to pick up market share and clients. Take advantage of it while it lasts.

Strategic planning graduated from mandatory monotony to mission-critical.

Law firms have more money at risk than ever — and the future is made up of bets and choices. These bets include markets, talents, changing demands of law firms by attorneys and clients — and the free-for-all developing as law firms poach each other’s partners.

Strategic plans were once a discussion among a few partners. Now, meticulous processes with a combination of facts, trends, experience, ideas, vision, and intuition drive the most successful plans. Some firms are there — others are getting there. And a few don’t care.

Patrick McKenna and I surveyed more than 200 law firm leaders to delineate the state of the art — and how to make it better. It’s a cornucopia of approaches, processes, and results.

Use it to pick from the best. Use it to position yourself to help. And use it to help drive outsized results.

You can find the link to download the full complimentary report at the end of the post. Here are the highlights:

15% of law firm leaders characterize their strategic planning as excellent — with another 11% describing it as good. This leaves 74% of law firms with sub-optimal strategic planning — and likely plans.

69% of law firm leaders indicate strategic planning is more important than ever or nearly so. They see the risks — and the rewards.

6.5% of leaders eschew plans and are opportunistic. They consider themselves agile and have keen instincts. This too is a strategic plan — to be opportunistic.

79% of law firm leaders indicate they have written strategic plans. But most don’t see them as excellent — leaving work to do and decisions to be made.

Only 34% of firms interviewed or surveyed a majority of their partners as part of the process. This dilutes engagement at all levels as they feel excluded. It also reduces interest in understanding the plan — never mind implementing it.

45% include client surveys and feedback in their strategic plan. More than half exclude a vital guidepost in spotting opportunities from the constituency with enormous influence on your results. Clients offer a broad view of needs and see strengths in law firms they rarely see in themselves.

68.2% of leaders use a consultant to help facilitate the planning process. Of these — only one-third reported successfully implementing all of their plans. A good consultant will help — a mediocre consultant or less will hurt.

Leaders with internally focused plans are 20% less satisfied with their plans. These leaders intuitively sense how an external focus brings new insights. They also add energy and enthusiasm as it delineates more opportunities for attorneys.

35% of firms formed a dedicated committee to develop the strategic plan. These committees hold each accountable for bringing in the right facts at the right time. They add structure and accountability to the process.

Larger firms have more targeted goals and plans. 44.2% of firms described their plans as brief and targeted — this drops to 12.5% for firms with less than 500 attorneys. Brief and targeted beats broad and all-inclusive.

18.6% of leaders indicate they implement almost all of their plans. So many firms see their plans lying on a shelf or server somewhere. Implementation demands more resources than planning — with specific accountability for implementations — most often a key missing link.

Law firms can improve their strategic planning process — and develop more compelling plans — by embracing the following processes:

Avoid negotiated strategic plans

Law firms report the strategic plan is effectively a result of the ability of certain practice leaders to negotiate for their interest or goal — adding facts from clients and partners will help ground truth the plan — and eliminate negotiated strategies.

Add client input — 3 advantages

Clients have a broad view of their needs and how they will change — in addition, 70% of law firms don’t match client perception — alignment is one key to success. And — they help eliminate negotiated strategic plans.

Add attorney input

It’s worth it for the one insightful new idea — and it will come from a place you least likely expect. You will also boost overall attorney engagement.

Lay out the process for all

Let everyone in the firm know what is happening and when. This knowledge boosts engagement and creates energy around strategic thinking. It also establishes a form of accountability to the firm for completion and implementation.

Short beats long

Take the time to make it brief and targeted. It takes more work and may demand more decision making — but it drives success.

Embrace alternative and nontraditional views

New market opportunities are arising that only associates know about. New regulations are creating counterintuitive opportunities. Talent retention demands new strategies not typically used in law firms. The pivotal insights and facts may lie outside the current field of vision. Multiple and alternative viewpoints — harnessed with positive energy — are one of the most powerful tools to make all this change work for you.

Attorneys love an intellectual challenge. It lies before you in the form of strategic planning. The firms upping their strategic planning process are the most likely to emerge as the next market leaders — and they will enjoy better retention as few things attract high-performing attorneys more than success — ditto for clients.

You can download a complimentary copy of the full report Dissecting the Processes of Law Firm Strategic Planning here.

Proof Positive. It is getting harder to improve performance. Clients are being more selective in who they want to hire — and want evidence beyond the number of cases tried to verdict. Only 58 firms managed to move up market — down from 70 just 2 years ago.

The upmarket firms increased their status as clients’ first choice and preferred provider — as we delineate in 8 major litigation segments in the brand-new report BTI Litigation Outlook 2024.

These 58 firms are investing more to outpace clients’ rapidly changing needs. They talk to clients, provide early assessments, and help plan for what’s next. They share their knowledge and insight about new and novel claims they see. They shower their clients with knowledge and strategies.

Please join me in congratulating the following firms on the ability to move up as clients raise the bar:

Moving up market is a strategic performance metric. You are improving your market presence faster than clients are changing their expectations. The upmarket litigation firms are well positioned to capture growth in the 4th quarter and 2024.

Discover the details on all corporate counsel law firm preferences — by name — and learn who stands out in each of key 8 litigation segments — and why in the just released BTI Litigation Outlook 2024.

You can use the BTI Litigation Outlook 2024 to map out exactly where the litigation spending is and isn’t — enabling you to target your business development efforts to the best and most robust opportunities.

BTI’s 3-year deep dive exploration into Law Firm LinkedIn pages and performance has unearthed a fascinating landscape of achievements and opportunities across law firms of varying sizes. The implications are profound, offering high-performing firms a gateway to inbound business and providing others with a chance to catch up — or leap ahead in the latest source of new business.

Our research reveals that strategically minded and disciplined firms consistently deliver performance levels 3x times better than their larger peers. The extent of this performance spectrum underscores the crucial role of investment, commitment, and strategy in shaping each firm’s destiny.

At the epicenter of LinkedIn success lies engagement — comments, likes, celebrations, and posts that captivate your followers. The ripple effect extends to their networks, courtesy of LinkedIn’s algorithm, making every engagement a building block for stronger bonds and meaningful relationships. This leads to inbound business.

Our latest report, The BTI Benchmarking Law Firm LinkedIn Performance 2023, Unleashing the Power of LinkedIn, is the culmination of our in-depth research. It’s your ticket to decoding the secrets behind top-tier LinkedIn performance. But that’s not all — it’s a blueprint for harnessing LinkedIn’s full potential to drive inbound business for your law firm.

Please join me in congratulating the following law firms for their exceptional leadership position in LinkedIn Active Engagement by Touchpoints across all 3 Am Law cohorts plus large international firms:

Only one source provides law firms with unique insights into exactly where they stand along key LinkedIn performance metrics including:

• LinkedIn Followers
• LinkedIn Followers per Partner
• Active Engagement Percentage Rates
• Engagement Touchpoints and Activities
• Engagement Touchpoints and Activities per Partner
• Monthly Posting Cadence
• Where you stand compared to law firms in your size cohort

The BTI Benchmarking Law Firm LinkedIn Performance 2023: Unleashing the Power of LinkedIn is your gateway to this invaluable data, the most successful strategies, and the secret sauce to securing attorney support and engagement with your firm’s online presence. Don’t just keep up — jump ahead of the curve!

Ready to transform your law firm’s LinkedIn game? Click here to grab your copy of the report and embark on a journey to LinkedIn success.

Stay ahead, stay engaged, and stay successful on LinkedIn!