It has become a truism when looking at what ails a law firm, particularly one struggling to keep up with rivals, to argue that the solution is simple: be more ruthless. The logic is that if these sleepy firms could only kick the collective rear of their partnership – and kick out a fair chunk of underperformers – then the law firm would achieve its true greatness.
Certainly, the ‘don’t spare the rod’ school is frequently espoused by journalists, who then tend to moan when the suitably toughened firm starts firing staff (I’m sure historically Legal Week has been an offender on this regard – apologies).
