Lawyers excel at spontaneous collaboration, but it is structured and strategic collaboration where firm leadership must lead decisively...
In growth-oriented and truly integrated "One Firm" law firms, effective collaboration isn't a matter of chance—it's crafted with deliberate intent and precision, as equally as they manage their finances.
As we explore the CREDO 10 principles of collaborative growth, this article's focus is on CREDO 2 — Collaborative Growth is Defined and Deliberate. This principle reinforces my belief that collaboration is not a vague concept but has distinct, manageable forms, enabling firm leadership to drive more effective collaboration across their organization for enhanced growth and client service.
Types of Collaboration in Law Firms
- Spontaneous Collaboration: Often seen in client services, this type of collaboration is reactive, addressing immediate needs or unexpected changes. It relies heavily on empowering attorneys to quickly access the right professional resources and a culture that values responsiveness and established service values. Effective spontaneous collaboration requires strong firmwide knowledge management (i.e., who knows who, who knows what, etc.) and the ability to rapidly brief and define problems clearly for efficient resolution.
- Strategic Collaboration: This involves critical firm decisions made by a diverse, well-prepared group. High-stakes environments such as executive committee meetings, practice group planning meetings, and client strategy sessions demand extensive trust, along with skills in facilitation, consensus-building, and conflict resolution. The goal is to utilize the appropriate spectrum of knowledge and perspectives to propel the firm or team forward.
- Structured Collaboration: Similar to a football team using a well-honed playbook, structured collaboration in law firms involves routine, predictable, and process-driven interactions. Activities like team meetings, RFP responses, event planning, and staffing are defined, sometimes as simple as a checklist, pinpointing when and where collaboration is most needed and effective. By tailoring these processes to fit the firm's cultural and capability strengths and supporting them with a robust infrastructure of people, processes, technology, and knowledge, firms can enhance effectiveness and avoid the inefficiencies that stifle collaboration and opportunity. This is where great business development happens!
Understanding these collaboration forms allows firm leadership, attorneys, and administration to know precisely when, where, and how to effectively engage within a complex, multidisciplinary law firm environment, especially as it relates to marketing and business development. This understanding is also foundational for establishing KPIs that support the continuous management and improvement of collaboration processes.
For example, I recently worked with a law firm to define their core business development processes, pinpointing areas for individual empowerment and collaboration that fit the firm’s structure, resources, and cultural preferences. This project incorporated best practices and was followed by comprehensive communications and training.
Structured collaboration, in particular, stands as a critical enabler of systematic business development, orchestrating the firm's collective strengths to benefit individuals, teams, clients, and overall firm growth.
Despite the predictable nature of many law firm processes, there's often resistance to optimizing these due to long held beliefs of entrepreneurialism and collegiality, or due to fears of increasing complexity. Yet, similar to military operations where a level of uniformity provides a high level of trust and efficiency, establishing a baseline of structured processes in law firms can significantly enhance collaboration, resource allocation, and speed of decision-making.
Lawyers excel at spontaneous collaboration, but it is structured and strategic collaboration where firm leadership must lead decisively. Clear, expected, and straightforward guidance is essential for attorneys to excel. Although these efforts are largely non-billable, they are critical for true growth.
This high-level framework demonstrates the value of defined collaboration. Tailoring and embedding these practices into your firm requires a nuanced approach, which is where expert guidance makes all the difference.
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Clinton Gary is a former Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer for prominent law and Big 5 firms, and an Accredited Partner with Gardner & Co. on the methodologies of “Smarter Collaboration.” Contact Clinton at clinton@credocg.com and connect with him on LinkedIn.
