Last week we discussed how the recession is only the 3^rd top concern of law firm leaders. The recession is getting low billing as the associates’ biggest source of insomnia as well.

In a combined telephone/online survey — we analyzed more than 1,000 responses from associates. The question we posed: “What keeps you up at night?” The recession ranks a distant 6^th — limited mostly to associates working in corporate. With few concerns about the recession — the top causes of associate insomnia are:

1. Deadlines

They are everywhere and unavoidable. Deadlines are part of the fabric of legal practice and are the top issue keeping 23.4% of associates up at night. Associates point to simultaneous, manufactured, and moving deadlines — all of which serve as a source of insomnia.

2. Career Growth

It could be a partnership or lateral move — but 19.6% of associates lose sleep over their career trajectory. These associates see the path to partnership getting longer and slower — and want growth. They are looking ahead in their careers and express concern over making sure it goes right for them — and they want to feel like they have control.

3. Doing a Great Job

At 17.2%, rivaling career growth, these associates see nothing but high expectations and want to meet them. Their work reflects themselves — and a ticket to advancement. They also see a range of expectations across the partners for whom they work — and worry about how to do an excellent job for all.

4. Billable Hours

It is in their faces. It drives bonuses. And the cost of failure is high. It keeps 14% of associates up at night as they may not see exactly where the billable hours will come from.

5. Work/Life Balance

With a tilt more towards work than life — 11.3% of associates are looking for a better balance.

6. Economy/Recession

Only 4.7% of law firm associates are losing sleep over the economy. Most are busy and see the demand for their talent — and remain confident they will land on their feet.

While a concern — virtually no associates are losing sleep over remote work or return-to-office initiatives. They feel like they can manage this issue and find a solution suiting their preferences. It may or may not be at their current firm.

Sound sleep is a key ingredient to wellness. Law firms can improve wellbeing, retention, and productivity by sharing more about deadlines and expectations as matters unfold. Laying out a career path also helps associates sleep better at night.

Conducting a formal firmwide associate survey also helps insomnia by offering associates a clear voice — and will deliver insights you won’t get anywhere else. Please reach out to me if you want to discuss.

Stay ahead of the market with BTI's latest research

The post Why Recession Ranks 6th on Associate’s Top Concerns appeared first on The BTI Consulting Group.

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:

• • Overall success. At 26%, these leaders are looking past the recession. They want to keep the right strategic and operating initiatives going — and make the changes to drive success. Law firm strategy is a living, breathing organism — the law firm leaders are keenly watching for adjustments needed as a result of the uncertain world.
  • At 22%, law firm leaders are banking on retaining and attracting talent to drive success. These leaders are focused on bringing in rainmakers, filling gaps in key practices, and bolstering the bench in targeted growth areas. The hunt for talent is the most strategic it’s ever been. Look for law firms to find better ways to retain and recruit the right talent for their goals.
  • Recession at 12% is the 3^rd largest source of law firm leaders’ insomnia. The primary worry here is when, how deep, and then how to adjust. They are watching early indicators like new assignments, BD activity, and billed hour trends.
  • 9% are concerned most about cyberattacks. These pose existential threats. And as one law firm leader put things; “All you have to do is send a sophisticated looking but malicious email with partner comp in the subject line you have a potential disaster on your hands.”
  • Merging the firm and succession planning come in at 5% each.

The recession lurks but it’s not a top concern. So many have lived through at least one and have a good sense of what to do. In addition, these leaders feel they have already prepared the firm for a recession — it’s baked into the strategy.

One of the big takeaways is the strong focus on strategy, which is reflected deeply in the 1^st and 2^nd concerns — overall success. These law firm leaders are looking ahead — as are those focusing on talent. The near-term impact of a recession is but one stop on the journey.

Look for more lateral movement, more strategic movement, and more focus on metrics and inputs as these leaders adjust their strategies. Talent will have a major impact on success — for firms of every size. Look for strategy and talent to become even more of a centerpiece than it ever was.

Stay ahead of the market with BTI's latest research

The post New Survey: Recession Ranks 3rd in Law Firm Leaders’ Top Concerns appeared first on The BTI Consulting Group.

The market is ripe for law firms to up their marketing game.

Smaller firms, bigger firms, and global giants are all bringing on new marketing leaders. In the last 6 (or so) months alone, we’ve seen many notable changes in leadership:

• Baker McKenzie adds long-time pro Wendy Bernero to head client development

• Hogan Lovells welcomes deeply experienced David McClune from Shearman & Sterling

• White and Williams promotes Andrea Malone to CMO

• Klehr Harrison Harvey Branzburg brings on Holly Lentz Kleeman as CBDO

• Stroock adds Trish Lilley, a well-respected, experienced veteran

• Hodgson Russ hires Carrie Ryder who has both big firm (think Morgan Lewis) and smaller firm experience

• Paul Weiss brings back alumnus Luke Ferrandino as their CMO

• Drinker Biddle hires Kristin Coda, a long-experienced CMO

• Akerman brings on P. Jeanne Brown, a veteran CMO

• Steptoe & Johnson hires Wendy Taylor, a long-tenured law firm CMO

• Nelson Mullins adds Beth Huffman with an impressive resume in law firm marketing

• Kean Miller brings on law firm marketing pro Carolee Swallie as CMBDO

This flurry of top-level turmoil can be credited to retirements, a drive for law firms to build more marketing muscle, people leaving for new opportunities, law firms setting new strategic directions, and a host of other factors.

Think for a minute. Almost ½ of law firm CMOs are on the road to burn out. Only 20% see themselves as trusted advisors to their firms and only 45% rate their jobs an 8 of 10 or higher. In short, a lot of talent is open to greener pastures.

So… How can law firms use this to their advantage?

Love the One You’re With: Double Down on Your Marketing Leadership

Up your support, listen more, listen better, and an occasional extra thank you never hurts. Include your CMO as a central figure in the firm’s strategic direction. Take the time to review the firm’s strategic vision, marketing & business development plans, and client-facing philosophies. Ask them for new ideas and thoughts about how to up the marketing and business development game—and give them the support to see their initiatives through.

Find Your True Love: Find the Best Performers Looking for More

When a potential new CMO walks through your door, tell them a compelling story—the firm’s vision and how you see marketing and business development playing a central role. Sharing your marketing and BD philosophy right away will tell you more about each other than any other conversation you have. Make sure everyone who meets your candidate can tell the story. Revisit priorities, even briefly, to be sure everyone in leadership is in sync with the role of marketing and business development. This shows your candidate they can make an impact, be respected, implement new programs, and see their contribution to the firm’s success.

And, your candidate knows you already. They’ve checked your firm out in Chambers, BTI reports, and talked with folks who have worked for you—they want to know your vision and how this role fits in, not about the firm’s history.

It should go without saying but treat your candidate well. Think of candidate service as a proxy for exactly what it will be like to work at the firm. CMOs tell me stories of firm management being late to interviews, partners taking phone calls during interviews, and no one ever saying thanks for coming in—even when the candidate travels from out of town.

To attract the best-in-class CMOs, offer a market-based salary. High performers believe their current pay plus a percent doesn’t speak to commitment or value—it speaks to offering enough to make a move. CMOs have a good sense of what the market will support. And, the top performers view themselves as being at the top of the market.

More than a few law firms are still on the hunt for a marketing leader. The candidate pool is strong. Look for more offers, more moves, and law firms with strong leaders making sure theirs don’t go.

MBR

The post There’s a Bull Market for Law Firm CMOs appeared first on The BTI Consulting Group.

A typical rainmaker added just over $1 million to their existing book of business since 2015. This increase is way ahead of any industry growth or other market-based phenomena. And it is 4.5 times bigger than the average partner’s increased bookings.

Unrelenting

This performance comes from one thing—unrelenting focus on clients. They understand relationships are everything and don’t consider the possibility they won’t deliver. Their clients know when budgets will change in real time, and they exude confidence to be a “turn-over partner”—a client calls in the middle of the night, shares a crisis, and can then turn over and go back to sleep, confident their rainmaker has it covered.

7% of Rainmakers Hidden and Waiting to Be Found

BTI research shows only about 7% of all partners are rainmakers in the largest 600 law firms. By contrast, 86% of partners say they lack the skills to develop new business in a meaningful way. This leaves 7% unaccounted for—these are rainmakers-in-the-making. Find them in your firm. Cull them out. Train them. Give them tools, training, and most importantly—access to your most strategic clients—where they can really build a relationship—and new business.

Unleashing Your Hidden Rainmakers

If you want to lose the 7% of up-and-comers, constrain them and don’t give them access to clients. Rainmakers and rainmakers-in-the-making hate to be constrained. They get their energy from clients—suppress the energy and you suppress the rain.

This 7% of up-and-comers are likely already high performers. But, they may not have the length of experience leadership typically expects. The risk of letting an up-and-comer loose on a strategic client is much less than the risk of keeping them from clients. Someone (think recruiter or another firm) will spot this talent and lure them away to the greener pastures of client access.

We realize this can mean hard decisions for law firms. What do to with your partner managing a strategic client but not booking new business? How to allow for more client-facing time and how to provide the infrastructure a rainmaker-in-the-making might need? And the advanced coaching, mentoring, and training up-and-comers crave. However hard the decisions, law firms will make them either passively through inaction or actively by preparing up-and-comers for outsized success. But the decisions need to be made.

MBR

Based on in-depth interviews BTI conducted with more than 160 law firm marketing leaders and 150 law firm partners between September 2016 and May 2017.

The post Rainmakers Kicking Big Time Butt: Increase Their Books 4X Others appeared first on The BTI Consulting Group.