Like many organizations, title inflation has befallen law firms. Over the last decade, starting with the move of executive directors to chief operating officer titles, most functional managers have seen their titles elevated to the “C” level.
While, generally, a sign of progress, some new positions can really make you scratch your head. Chief receptionist officer, chief of business continuity, chief of client excellence and chief ambassador are but a few recently created titles that can be considered a bit peculiar. While well intentioned, such titles can have a reverse effect on everyone as they cheapen the meaningfulness of the level. At a minimum, it means firms have to build bigger conference rooms as they try to make room for everyone “at the table.”
