This article first appeared, in longer form, in the spring 2006 issue of Edge International Review Magazine. Visit http://www.edge.ai/Edge-International-1105955.html for more.
Historically in the legal profession, most good lawyers have believed that high quality work should speak for itself and should therefore always be in high demand. But in the real world, people are attracted as much to the experience of legal service as to the actual service itself.
In our fragmented profession, it's time for some law firms to stand out from the pack by creating an attractive experience that goes along with the high-quality work. You've heard of practice management – but do we discuss "Practice Design"? Not yet.
If law firms truly want to capture the attention of the marketplace, to stand out for all the right reasons, they need to start thinking more about how they present themselves to the market and how they deliver their services. By committing time and resources to law practice design, innovative firms would open up whole new frontiers of competitive advantage over their rivals.
Many lawyers will laugh off the idea – it's too new, too unusual, "unbusinesslike." But a few will think about it, and they will do something that creates a real competitive edge. They will subscribe to the idea of having a Practice Design Manager. Here are seven areas a Practice Design Manager could address and tasks he or she could perform to ensure that practice design is integrated throughout the law firm, sending a clear, consistent message to the marketplace.
1. Your lawyers
No firm can make lawyers identical in appearance and experience, and no firm would want to. It is the lawyers' unique characteristics and talents that are the lifeblood of a firm. What we can do, however, is adhere to certain standards and values, a consistent firm philosophy and a consistent approach to client relations, file management and client communications. Are all lawyers reading from the same playbook?
2. Your behaviour
In the law firm paradigm, you – the lawyer – are the ultimate product. The client experiences you. Accordingly, client interactions with you and your colleagues will be influenced strongly by the degree to which you all consistently possess and display client relations skills. The challenge here is that, unlike a typical commercial product, you can't simply tweak a manufacturing process and improve every single lawyer, identical to all others.
But a certain degree of consistency is attainable in the law firm environment. So, perhaps all employees should attend client-relations skills training, and should conduct themselves consistently and productively when listening, managing expectations, handling complaints, soliciting feedback, visiting clients, etc. You might not pay much attention to these aspects of the client relationship, but rest assured, your clients do.
3. Your appearance
How your lawyers dress and comport themselves sends a clear message, whether you intend it or not. Your lawyers' attire presents a clear and unavoidable statement to your clients. What do you want that statement to be?
"Dressing down" means easing formality requirements, not abandoning standards. If you like to dress "casual," that's fine. But have your tailor smarten you up casually. If a lawyer dresses like something the cat dragged in (even if motivated by a desire to be countercultural), his or her ability to convey intelligence and caring to a client will be impaired.
4. Your hallways
Picture the most lavish, most expensive and impressive law firm lobby you can. Now picture a months-old coffee stain on that fine carpet or imported rug. Often, firm managers are reluctant to acknowledge that such a stain merits the expense and effort of cleaning or replacing the carpet or rug. But in fact, that single stain will more than offset all the other environmental investment.
The Practice Design Manager would inspect the premises with two sets of eyes. First, consider how a client would see the premises. Does the physical appearance convey the right message of high quality, organization, meticulousness and the right kind of success? And secondly, how do members of the law firm see the premises? Is it an environment that makes concentrating on the task at hand a little easier, or is there chaos that distracts?
5. Your walls
The art on the walls of a law firm can be simultaneously funny and sad. You see, you're not really allowed to comment on the art, because you're not allowed to like or dislike it. Compliment a piece of art, and you're likely to find that the people at the firm hate it. They're tired of it. On the other hand, no matter how ghastly you think a piece of art is, you can't be critical because you never know which spouse of which power partner chose it.
The point is that too often, art in law firms is political, not practical. That message gets through – to employees and clients both. Your choice of art discloses to your clients whether you and your colleagues are adventurous, courageous, colourful, boring, or staid. Accordingly, your Practice Design Manager might hire a professional to choose art that will deliver an objective and intentional impact, or rent rotating art from a local art gallery, changing the art periodically and keeping those pieces that do stand the test of time.
6. Your work product
I have watched some of the best lawyers in practice hand a Bic pen to a client to sign a significant agreement. Why? Because they don't realize that the pen makes a significant statement. If you choose the cheapest things you can find for important matters, what message do you think your client takes from that?
Conversely, if you place your client's copy of a key agreement in a suitable, high-quality folder with the firm's letterhead, what does that convey to the client? What if you add a tasteful high-quality cover? It is just as important to dress the work product as it is to dress the lawyer. A Practice Design Manager could ensure that the firm does not neglect this issue.
7. Your communications
For centuries, a law firm's letterhead was its primary vehicle for branded contact with clients. In today's electronic world, lawyers have numerous points of such contact: mail, fax, e-mail, Website, etc. Today, e-mails can be upgraded with graphics, with automatically updating links leading to important information. Pleasing fonts and colors can make messages easier to read. A Practice Design Manager would marry function and design for all firm communications.
Perhaps the most important job of the Practice Design Manager would be to ensure consistency throughout the firm. Whether you are a friend or a foe of branding, all legal work product and communications should have a similar look and feel, regardless of the source within the firm from which they come. Lawyers shouldn't be identical, but they can resemble each other in the ways that count.
Commitment is the key
As my friend Larry Anderson writes in his One Sentence Blog, "Commitment does not require the absence of doubt; often commitment means acting despite your doubt." Applying this concept to law firm design reinforces that, while not everyone has to agree, everyone does have to commit. The Practice Design Manager would obtain that commitment – and enforce it.
Gerry Riskin is a former Managing Partner, a co-founder of Edge International, and an internationally recognized lawyer, author and management consultant. Contact Gerry at riskin@edge.ai or call his global iPhone (202) 957-6717.