Cementing and establishing new law firm traditions in 2015

Christmas time, like many dates in religious calendars, is a period full of shared traditions. It's a time when families get together and traditional activities - from hanging stockings to watching the Queen's speech - are handed down from one generation to the next. Traditions, or ways that a family or group of friends do things together, are important to us. They give us a sense of continuity and they distinguish us as a community of people.

With their strong sense of tradition, law firms are just like big families. They share a history that goes back to their founding partners, along with an instinctive belief in passing their values and traditions from one generation of partners to the next.

A law firm's traditions are part of the culture that binds its people together, which in turn creates pride in the firm and represents an expression of the firm's values. It's an organisational feature that distinguishes a partnership from a corporate entity and, when valued and preserved, becomes a source of strength and competitive advantage.

Traditions exist at the firmwide, office and team level, and they all contribute to 'the way we do things around here'. At one firm, there's a tradition of handing out daffodils to staff as they enter the office building on the first day of spring. It's a nice touch, introduced by the managing partner and continued by his successor - a very visible office tradition which puts a smile on people's faces and makes them feel good about the firm.

Day-to-day traditions can also be kept alive by the firm's partners. This might take the form of a drinks trolley arriving each Friday afternoon for a short period of 'down time', or special celebrations and rituals that happen at the end of a gruelling transaction. It might be the day the partners serve the staff in the canteen or come to work in colourful Christmas jumpers - traditions that help to deepen team relationships as well as to humanise partners in the eyes of their associates.

When firms combine or merge with each other, creating new traditions is just as important as preserving some of the old ones. At an office level, traditions can be the biggest thing in helping partners and staff to feel that their firm's identity has not been completely subsumed into a larger entity whose culture may feel alien to them.

At a firmwide level, however, creating new traditions that everyone can join in can be a powerful way of supporting integration. This might take the form of introducing a programme to support the local community or even a day off on your birthday - traditions that can be shared across the firm and continued for years to come.

As we start a new year, there's an opportunity for all of us to think about the traditions we want to participate in and perpetuate. For law firm leaders and partners, there's the added opportunity to sustain, strengthen or start a tradition that brings people together and reflects the culture and values of the firm.

Jill King is a consultant and the former global HR director at Linklaters (www.jkinsights.co.uk)