There is no place for maverick partners in the age of artificial intelligence

Is every person in your law firm representing your brand values to clients? This is an issue which can threaten your firm’s hard-won place on an advisory panel, as a recent interview highlighted. Mavericks have no place in any service-based business, let alone in a highly competitive market. Few law firms are able to differentiate their services to the point that corporate counsel consider them to be indispensable and irreplaceable. In-house legal departments are also investing in technology, including artificial intelligence, to produce repetitive legal work to a higher quality and lower cost than law firms.

It’s not just your competitors and the emerging legal robots that you have to worry about. In-house legal departments are increasingly hiring specialist lawyers to reduce their reliance on law firms. Cost cutting is only one motivation: corporate counsel want to work with lawyers who truly understand their business, who have soft skills and who are able to provide well-communicated, pragmatic and directive commercial advice. 

So, why would you expect your clients to put up with partners who behave badly? Mavericks may be high-value billers, but they can also cost your firm valued clients and staff. There is a term in the accounting sphere – total cost of ownership – which is used to measure the full scale of an investment (including indirect costs) over a period of time. Often, what may seem like a sound return on investment in the short term is found to carry substantial hidden costs in the long term. Have you calculated the total cost of having a maverick partner as an owner of your business?

You may believe that, because equity partners have a vested financial interest in the firm, they would not wilfully act against its best interests. But, consider if your firm’s compensation and reward programme encourages partners to behave in ways which are in their short-term interests or the firm’s long-term interests. Does it incentive partners to vote for investments in critical new systems and emerging practice areas? Are they motivated to hoard clients or to refer work to colleagues? Remember, your partners can cash in and leave the firm at any time, taking ‘their’ clients with them. Some may even do this just before the firm enters insolvency proceedings.

Values are so much more than a document which you post on your website or include in your firm’s pitch for new work. Values need to be real, living things which resonate with each and every person within your organisation. When people feel their interests are aligned with those of the firm – in more than a financial sense – they will work better with colleagues and clients to find creative and innovative solutions to the emerging challenges facing both clients and your firm. These vital relationships and skills will be critical to gaining a competitive edge in the age of artificial intelligence.

Until next time,