In the late ’80s, when I joined a medium size international firm and became partnership secretary, I was one of a very small number of lawyers involved in management. Most of the rest were accountants. A former secretary – who was a very competent personnel manager – an office manager and one IT administrator supported me. None would have described themselves as professional managers.
In the 12 years since then I have observed a dramatic change in the involvement of professional managers in the legal profession. Particularly, I have noticed changes in three areas:
