Clients are using a new calculus to decide whether to follow their partner to a new firm. Clients have spent the last three years watching:

• • Partners change firms
  • Corporate counsel changing companies
  • Experiencing the extremes of client service on both ends of the spectrum
  • A string of retirements

The combination of the partner movement, clients inheriting new partners, and the general swirl of attorneys bring the idea of working with new partners and firms more into the mainstream than ever before.

We asked corporate counsel if they would follow their primary attorney to another firm both pre- and post-covid. The difference in the numbers is a game-changer.

Our just completed survey reveals 44% of clients would follow their primary law firm’s partner to a new firm. Compared to pre-pandemic levels of 12 to 15% — this number has nearly tripled.

But even this 44% has a few concerns:

• • It has to make sense to your client
  • Conflicts
  • New law firm branding
  • Ease of transition or onboarding
  • Nature of the work
  • How they learned about the move

Almost every client indicated personal communication was a central part of the equation. Clients who learn about lateral moves from the news or through announcements could have their minds changed.

These practices saw the largest increases in the number of clients who are likely to follow their partner:

M&A: more than 30% of M&A clients are open to following their partners — up from 12% pre-pandemic. Most of these clients have been in their role for two years or less.

Litigation: the flow of litigation makes it easy for clients to move new cases to their partner at a new law firm.

Labor and Employment: the plethora of new regulations and industry-specific needs drives clients to stick with partners who understand them.

While the number of clients following partners has tripled — it is still less than half. Laterals are not a slam dunk — yet. Here are my recommendations for success:

• • Develop a transition plan for each client you want to bring to the new law firm
  • Provide partner and BD support to ensure the transition plan is successful
  • Use business professionals to take care of administrative procedures to onboard new clients
  • Develop a clear and concise onboarding process
  • Ensure that the clients you want to come with you get a personal call before the news gets out
  • Extend a leadership greeting to the most important clients
  • Design specific integration plans to bring new partners into the firm to be able to service clients

Don’t mistake the lull in lateral movement as a decline. Expect more and higher profile lateral movement. It will happen sooner than you think, now would be a great time to figure out how to keep your partners.

Momentum is only starting to build.

Expect 15% to 20% of law firm leaders to step down over the next 2 years. It may be the most overlooked trend to hit the legal community.

Based on the survey my longtime friend and collaborator, internationally recognized law firm consultant Patrick McKenna, and I conducted with more than 250 law firm leaders. Here is how many are happy and how many are not:

The best aspects of the role suggest these leaders are working with highly engaged partners. They see tangible evidence of the results of their efforts.

The leaders believe they are pushing the firms along with less help from the partners than they expected — or want. There is less engagement. But the role is still rewarding.

No law firm leader would ever let their low job satisfaction get in the way of doing the right thing. And those who know they plan to step down may even find it easier to make the tough decisions partners may not like.

One common denominator across all 3 groups — law firm leaders are not well understood. It is hard to appreciate all the duties and responsibilities until you are on the inside looking out. It’s a stressor to some and an energy source for others — but they all feel it.

These law firm leaders’ roles change over time. This helps explain why the less-than-happy group is more tenured than the rest. It isn’t what it used to be.

The leadership role is a good analogy for the legal market and law firms — it isn’t what it used to be. It will change, throw curve balls, and present the unexpected. Some will love the market and change the trajectory of the market through innovation and bold strategic moves.

We are only at the beginning in terms of market changes. Embrace and love it for as long as you can — it could be a wild ride. Stay tuned.

Recession almost pales as law firm leaders’ top concern.

Our brand-new survey of more than 250 law firm leaders reveals their top concerns and a host of other leadership insights and issues. Conducted with my longtime friend and collaborator, internationally recognized law firm consultant Patrick McKenna, we dissect how these law firm leaders are approaching the long- and near-term future.

We asked law firm leaders what keeps them up at night. 6 concerns emerged, but 2 jump out as the most dominant sources causing sleepless nights: