Collaboration has been a major strategic theme within law firms over the past several years. While some have made progress, there seems to be a ceiling on how far these efforts can actually go. My sense is that it comes down to incentives and motivation. I propose an approach to driving collaboration that uses the natural motivations of lawyers within a firm to stimulate better results.
How Good an Idea Is Collaboration?
In her terrific book, “Smart Collaboration,” Harvard Law School’s Heidi Gardner makes a compelling case for greater collaboration within law firms, detailing how more, smarter collaboration leads to substantial benefits for law firms and law firm partners alike:
- Outsized revenue growth;
- More engagements per client;
- Lower discounts on billings;
- More practices serving each client;
- Stronger client relationships;
- Greater success rate in lateral integration and retention;
- And significantly bigger books of business for individual lawyers.