The pandemic has caused an unprecedented change to the practice of law for many law firms. Since March, the delivery of superior client service has required a new way of thinking and a little bit of scrambling. Yet after a couple of months living in the Covid-19 world, some law firms feel a new normal that instills confidence about the future.
While trust in the future may have grown, fully returning to past practices is unlikely. Remote work processes and client interaction are commonplace and established. With legal services now understood and delivered differently, firms reshaped by change should reassess their paths forward. And because the merry-go-round of the past has slowed or jumped to a new carousel, the time is right to freshly assess two components key to firm success.
First, are today’s owner’s aspirations in sync? Now that the autopilot from past years has been disengaged, your changed firm should be viewed against your owner’s aspirations. If a new path has rendered untidy the collective aims of the firm’s owners, assessing the reason for aspirational disorder is critical. Addressing newly identified disparate views about the firm’s bearing is important. In this transformed world don’t assume that owners previously “on the same page” still are.
Second, the firm’s prior strategic course may be stale in light of its pandemic response. Taking stock of the firm’s pre-pandemic business plan is essential. Does it fit with the firm’s new practice paradigm, geographical footprint, service offerings, talent and client base? If the firm’s practice remains largely unchanged, the earlier strategy may retain its vitality. But if pandemic driven adjustments have altered the firm fundamentally, a fresh strategy may worth considering.
Surviving the pandemic does not end a firm’s challenge. Reassessing immutable past beliefs about the firm’s unity and objectives deserve a careful review as well.
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To read more on leading through law firm crisis, visit Managing Law Firm Transition.
