totallylegal

Lawyers' latent non-law competencies

By Nico Jansen 

Nico A. Jansen graduated in private law at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands and has a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from Edinburgh Business School/ Heriot Watt University in Scotland. He holds the professional qualifications in marketing (A and B) of  the Dutch Institute of Marketing (NIMA) and the Diploma in Marketing of the British Chartered Institute of Marketing of which he is a Member and admitted as a Chartered Marketer. In his capacity as managing consultant of www.legalmarketing.nl he operates as an interim lawyer and marketer and holds a lecturing position in (European) Business Law at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration of the VU University in Amsterdam. In 2011 In 2012 he published ‘Law & Self-Regulation. Legal and business perspectives’.

'Positioning', is how you want the market to perceive your offering and it's a core strategic decision for lawyers who want to grow their  business and... which one doesn't?

The growth matrix, as developed by Ansoff in 1957,  provides companies with four growth paths. One way to do this is to develop new products for existing markets. A fundamental  rule in marketing is that products should ‘tap into’ the  needs of the market. Another fundamental rule is that the market, in casu companies, are not aware of what they need. The point now is that companies are in need of (but not aware of it) services which can be provided by lawyers, and not aware that lawyers can offer these services. 

 

So what services can be offered by lawyers because they have the competencies to do so?

 

A few examples:

(i) Drafting codes of conducts and business principles:  

Lawyers are trained to analyse existing texts and draft new ones and these ‘word skills’ can be used to draft the codes of conduct with which companies communicate their values and methods of operations to the company’s stakeholders. Lawyers are usually excellent copywriters capable of formulating short and precise notes, they just need to learn to ‘spice up’ texts by choosing words which communicate positive associations when writing for non legal documents like marketing and communications because that is what marketing and communications is about. 

 

(ii) Structuring websites to include soft law recommendations: 

Lawyers tend not to like what is not law. However many international organisations; for example the OECD and the European Union, develop soft law to steer the business world into voluntarily implementing principles such as on disclosure, transparency, and corporate social responsibility. Lawyers can and should, take the lead in developing policy to ensure that a company behaves responsibly by analysing soft law and indicating what companies should consider and how. The management of a company will then make a decision on the lawyers' proposals and subsequently the choices should be communicated to the stakeholders on the company’s corporate website in texts written by lawyers under ‘buttons’ proposed by lawyerss, such as ‘implemented soft law’, ‘voluntary disclosure, and ‘our human rights principles’. 

 

(iii) Translating the company's CSR principles into contractual clauses: 

By clauses in supplier contracts  companies can impose their voluntarily accepted rules upon their suppliers. Clauses are off course a typical lawyers issue but clauses for non-legal issues are not. However if  lawyers do so they are in the ‘driver seat’ of responsibilisation of supply chains.

 

All examples indicate that lawyers can be more actively involved in reputation management. Lawyers have the competencies to do so as they are trained in analysing and drafting texts. The market is willing to buy these services from lawyers but they are now reluctant to do because lawyers are seen as lawyers. 

So while lawyers can offer new services a repositioning strategy is required, for example from lawyer into a reputation consultant. Progressive lawyers will love the idea, conservative lawyers will not.  Who are you?

 

Did you find this post helpful? Do you struggle with marketing ? Feel free to leave your questions and comments below. 

 

 

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Legal sector sees drop in retirements at Partner level

 

Study highlights:

• Number of partners retiring each year has fallen by a third in the last 15 years
• Total number of solicitors has risen at twice the rate of partners over same period

 

One in three (33 per cent) lawyers within private practice think their career progression is being stifled by a lack of opportunity within their firms, according to research conducted by international legal recruitment specialists Laurence Simons.* 

In a survey of more than 200 lawyers working in private practice, one in seven (15 per cent) feel their pursuit of partnership is being hindered by the reduced number of partners retiring in their firm. This indicates that the 30 per cent decrease in partner retirement and those leaving the profession each year (down from 12 per cent to 8 per cent) over the last 15 years** is having a knock-on effect on the career paths of those throughout the legal sector. Just seven per cent of lawyers specified ‘a lack of colleagues moving to work for other firms’, as their rationalisation as to why their climb up the legal ladder has decelerated.

Six in Ten Lawyers Look to Move In-House

Increase in Law Department Hiring as Six in Ten Lawyers Look to Move In-House  says Laurence Simons/ACC 

  

-        61% of lawyers in practice are considering a move in-house

-        More than half of EMEA companies expanded their legal teams in Q1 2012

-        External legal spending down 13% since 2008

 

Declining external legal spending and increasing hiring of in-house lawyers has convinced a majority of practice lawyers to consider roles in-house according to research by international legal recruiter Laurence Simons and global bar association, the Association of Corporate Counsel. 

The 2012 Europe, Middle East and Africa Law Department Survey analysed hiring trends and department structures, and found that 53% of companies stated they had hired into their legal departments in the first quarter of 2012. This represents a 13% improvement on company forecasts last year, when only 40% expected headcount in their legal departments to rise. This is matched by a fall of 13% on external spending by legal departments on legal services in the last four years.         

At the same time, six in ten lawyers working in practice would consider a move in-house. 

“In a marketplace where companies are continually looking to maximise the value they get from their legal teams, spending on practice lawyers has been squeezed as in-house teams have been required to take on more responsibility. That’s why the number of paralegals per lawyer has fallen as in-house departments are hiring more qualified lawyers to take on a more complex and sizeable workload”, explained Naveen Tuli, global managing director of Laurence Simons. “The ultimate result is that an increasing number of practice lawyers are realising there are great opportunities to be had in-house” 

Laurence Simons’ research also shows the UK is the country within the EMEA region to which most in-house lawyers are currently being recruited. 30% of in house hires in the EMEA region were in the UK. Germany accounted for 24% and France for 20% of positions. 

Mission Critical Areas 

Jim Merklinger, VP & General Counsel, Association of Corporate Counsel:
"Anti-bribery and corruption, competition and IP, along with general commercial, were the issues most frequently cited by respondents as being mission critical over the last twelve months. These were also areas that teams reported having strong expertise in-house as legal departments focus on managing the key risks and opportunities for their businesses."

The survey also found that while cost-management is high on the agenda for most businesses, specialist areas like taxation (6%) and insurance (0%) remain a relatively low priority within legal departments. 

Tuli added: “Inter-jurisdictional exposure is highly prized as legal teams are frequently required to take responsibility for jurisdictions beyond the country in which they are based.”

To find a new legal role, browse the latest opportunities from Laurence Simons here

Laurence Simons launches in Chicago

International legal recruitment specialists, Laurence Simons, has launched a new operation in Chicago, USA. The Chicago office will cover In-house, Private Practice and Compliance appointments in the Midwest and Rocky Mountain regions, which include but are not limited to Chicago, Milwaukee, Madison, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Indianapolis, Denver/Boulder, St. Louis, Kansas City and all major cities in Ohio and Iowa. Laurence Simons is part of the global multi brand recruitment family, FiveTen Group. 

Naveen Tuli (inset), Global Managing Director of Laurence Simons says, “The launch of our Chicago operation is testament to the pioneering spirit within Laurence Simons. Since launching our New York office in 2010, we have seen a growing demand to expand our reach in the US and I am very excited about what we will now be able to achieve as a result of this launch. 

Laurence Simons has appointed Laura Rusche as Managing Consultant of the Chicago legal recruitment operation. Rusche will report into Carey Bertolet and Danice Kowalczyk, co-managing partners in the US and will focus on further developing the Laurence Simons’ operation across the country and in particular mid to senior level appointments within both multinationals and law firms.

Previously Laura (inset) worked as Managing Director of a legal recruitment firm in Chicago. With five years’ experience as a commercial litigator at two well-known Chicago-based law firms, Laura will bring a wealth of relevant experience to bear for her client base – she will be a huge asset for a talent seeking business such as Laurence Simons.

Laura Rusche says: “I am thrilled to be a part of the Laurence Simons operation in the US and I look forward to bringing to the table knowledge and expertise gained in the Midwest and Rocky Mountains Region. Laurence Simons is a well respected brand in New York and I am exhilarated by the prospect of carrying this reputation into Chicago and its surrounding regions”.

Naveen Tuli said: “Whilst the Laurence Simons team in New York has built a strong business in the US, the launch of our Chicago operation is a step change in the breadth of our offering to our US clients. Laura will work closely with our teams in New York as well as our fourteen other international offices. I look forward to Laura contributing to our thriving US operation”.

To find a new legal opportunity with Laurence Simons, click here

Laurence Simons

Laurence Simons covers the whole spectrum of permanent and temporary legal positions in both the Private Practice and In–House markets from Newly Qualified through to Partner and General Counsel level roles. 

FiveTen Group

The FiveTen Group is one of the world’s fastest-growing specialist recruitment consultancies. With over 500 recruitment consultants operating across 22 cities in 13 countries, the group focuses on permanent, contract, temporary and interim positions across all industry sectors.

Our global reach reflects the rationale for the name of our Group: the surface area of the Earth is 510 million square kilometres. (This was suggested by one of our employees in a group–wide competition to name the Company).