Leadership for Lawyers

Law firm leaders must do more than react to change: they must anticipate market dynamics and create a culture that allows their lawyers and their firm to proactively shape the environment. Law firms face unprecedented complexity, increased competition and demands for transformation; yet, lawyers’ taste for autonomy and their need for intellectual challenge makes leading them especially demanding. As a result, leaders must ensure they have the right skills including the ability to listen, coach, innovate and support change. This second edition, coordinated by Rebecca Normand-Hochman and Dr Heidi K Gardner on behalf of the International Bar Association, explores the crucial elements of law firm leadership. New and updated chapters by prominent experts in the field include: •Leading partners to collaborate: featuring case studies and research to support behavioural change efforts, this new chapter highlights how lawyers’ unique personality profile can inhibit change – and how leaders can productively manage this obstacle. •Leading the M&A process: having helped both smaller domestic and massive global law firms to successfully complete combinations, the authors reveal the critical steps leaders need to follow to gain partners’ commitment to the hard work ahead. •Leadership succession: based on work with 150 law firms, this new chapter contains checklists and tools to help handle typical ‘pain points’, such as incentivising partners to cede control. Further chapters address how to lead productive business development efforts, global and virtual teams, the Millennial generation, and much more. Providing insights and practical guidance, this edition demonstrates how law firm leaders can enhance their leadership capabilities, whether their firms are small or large, domestic or global. Additionally, it is a vital resource for developing talent in legal professionals and consultants. Further, by highlighting the benefits of developing leadership skills early on, the book will be of interest to junior lawyers seeking to develop their careers.