1. The Role of team leaders

2. Growth: How, when & where to grow?

body building for law firmstwo half Day Intensive workshops

DUNCAN HARTCONSULTING

A Professional Practice Consultancy

DUNCAN HARt LL.B MBA

Duncan Hart spent three years as the Regional ManagingDirector of one of Australia’s largest law firms – and was a member of the taskforce that brought together the six law firmsthat created that firm. He has also practised as both a barristerand solicitor for some twenty years and was Managing Partner ofa ten-partner firm for several years.

He now practises as a management consultant providing adviceto professional service firms.

He has a degree in Law and a Masters of Business Administration.

the role of TEAM LEADERS

law firm growth - How, when and where to grow

Team leaders occupy a pivotal role in creating, nurturing anddelivering value in professional firms. They, more than anyone,are responsible for building the key relationships (both insideand outside the firm) that enable that value to be realized. Learnthe essential skills in a half-day workshop.

A half-day workshop designed for managing partners, membersof management committees, team leaders and those associatedwith designing and implementing growth strategies in law firms.

What you will learn

Team leaders occupy a pivotal role in creating, nurturing and deliveringvalue in professional firms. They, more than anyone, are responsible forbuilding the key relationships both inside and outside firm that enablethat value to be realized.

What are the essential skills they need to succeed in this taxing role?What should their priorities be and how do they balance these prioritieswith their own workload?

This program is designed to assist team leaders understand and developthese skills and manage the diverse priorities they face in four key areas:

• Leadership and team administration

• Client management and growth

• Recruitment and performance appraisal

• Planning and implementation at team level

The role is part coach, administrator, leader and marketeer – what ispossible? What is prudent? Most professionals, no matter how skilled intheir area of expertise, need guidance and assistance in carrying out thisrole effectively.

The workshop draws on the work of Maister, ‘Managing the ProfessionalService Firm’, Kaplan & Norton, ‘The Balanced Scorecard’ and Dawson,‘Developing Knowledge-based Client relationships’, and others.Examples and ‘best practice’ drawn from 30 years experience in working,managing and consulting to professional service firms are also provided.

Who should attend?

Team leaders, managing partners, CEOs and members of firm managementcommittees. Partners and those aspiring to take such a role in futurewould also benefit as would CFOs and marketing and HR personnelsupporting such teams.

the TEAM LEADER’S role WORKSHOP 1: Half day

Workshop Schedule

8.30 – 9.00 am - Registration and coffee

9.00 – 11.00 am - Leadership and team administration

• What is a sensible ratio between fee-earning work and my team leader duties?

• What type of financial and other reports do I require?• Issues in setting the team budget – WIP, billing and expenses• What sort of reports should I create – and to whom?• What is the best way to run a team meeting – who should come?• How do I get recognition for what I do as a team leader?• What should I be held accountable for as a team leader?• How much leverage is sensible – what other KPIs are useful?• What support should I expect from Finance, particularly at budget time?

Recruitment and performance appraisal

• How much influence should I have on appraisal of team members?• How do I encourage delegation and stop ‘hoarding’• Should my team include other partners with different skills?• When should support staff be involved?• How closely should I be involved in recruitment?• Am I a coach as well as a leader – to what end?• What should I do about monitoring quality and client complaints?

the TEAM LEADER’S role

11.00 – 11.30 am – Coffee

11.30 – 1.00pm - Planning and implementation at a team level

• What should my primary objectives be as a team leader?• What should I expect from my team members?• What should be in my team plan – how should it fit with the

firm’s plan and individual plans?• Templates for a team plan and individual plans – what works?• What should I aim to achieve with other teams in the firm?• What support should I expect from HR?

Client management, growth and building the team’s profile

• Should I be involved in client visits – how often?• Do I need a client relationship manager?• Which clients should I concentrate on – what if they

are not ‘my’ clients?• How can I boost my team’s profile internally and externally?• Should my team be centred on specific clients or our expertise?• What support should I expect from marketing?

A half-day workshop designed for managing partners, members ofmanagement committees, team leaders and those associated withdesigning and implementing growth strategies in law firms.

Analyse and exploit your firm’s growth potential in 5 steps:

1. Preparing the ground – what are the options, the alternate strategies?2. Growth from within – what grows and what goes?3. Mergers, federations and acquisitions – are they the answer?4. Developing your chosen strategy – selling your ‘strategy story’5. Planning and managing the process – what works and why?

Partners place increasing demands on management and themselves to:

• Meet ever rising profit expectations – ‘do more with less’• Cut under performing teams, clients, work and overheads • Merge, federate and acquire in an effort to attract ‘bigger and better’ work

• ‘Pick winners’ in their client base • Employ, train and retain more talented personnel, build better

systems, improve gearing

…but to what end?

Growth for growth’s sake is no strategy at all but there is little doubt thatlarger firms:

• Have the capability to generate higher profits per partner • Attract superior legal and management talent • Are better able to serve larger and more profitable clients • Perform more interesting, diverse and complex work • Are better placed to help partners and staff realise their career objectives

How should such pressures be managed? Create and drive an agendathat manages and harnesses those ambitions.

law firm growth - how, when & where to grow WORKSHOP 2: Half day

What you will learn

This workshop provides key insights essential to the consideration,development and execution of any growth strategy:

• Identify where your firm has the potential to grow – what should yoube looking for?

• Decide if all or only part of the firm and its clients have the capabilityand the capacity to grow – Make an informed decision and preparethe ground

• Choose what is to grow and what is to go • Set goals and expectations - manage the politics of accountability

at all levels • Identify what you need to achieve your growth targets –

match resources with expectations • Manage the process – timescale, milestones, and changing

course and speed

Workshop Schedule

8.30 – 9.00 am - Registration and coffee

9.00 – 11.00 am - Preparing the ground and developing the strategy

Identifying where your firm has the potential to grow

• Turnover and profit – how to apply profitability/productivity and leverage benchmarks

• Analysing profitable work in your firm • Being honest about your firm’s capabilities • Identifying the profitable clients and sectors • Focusing on the levers that matter – building a bias for action

law firm growth - how, when & where to grow

Having identified the potential where do you want to go - by what route?

• What sort of firm do you and partners want to be? • Establishing the ‘latitude and longitude’ of your firm –

your positioning • Your actual and potential client base – what is their potential for growth?• Alignment – talent, systems and clients • Can you afford it - can you afford not to?• Developing your ‘strategy story’• Gaining consensus and commitment around your growth strategy • The competition – choosing the ground on which you compete• Where do emerging areas and clients with ‘potential’ fit in? • Applying the 80/20 rule – making the space to succeed

11.00 – 11.30am - Coffee

11.30 – 1.00pm -Planning and managing the process

Setting goals and expectations

• Translating your strategy into a workable plan • Maintaining momentum and commitment - at firm, team

and individual level

• The importance of accountability – at all levels • Changing course and direction where necessary • A few words about mergers/acquisitions and federations

Identifying what you need to achieve your growth targets

• Time and tangible support - the most important resources • Allowing for budgetary impact – the timescale • Maintaining the focus on acquiring, training and retaining ‘talent’• Keeping the ‘strategy story’ fresh and relevant

What you will come away with

A sound understanding of the current thinking and practice in developingand managing growth strategies in today’s law firm - understandinggrounded in thirty years experience obtained in law firms in Australiathe US and UK, - working in and managing both small practicesthrough to the largest.

Practical insights and war stories complemented by relevant researchfindings and commentaries drawn from leading authorities in the field.

Duncan S. Hart LL.B MBA

Mobile 0414 562 267

Tel 03 9686 0060

114 Moray StreetSouth Melbourne Victoria 3025

Email dh@duncanhartconsulting.com

www.duncanhartconsulting.com

ABN 48 099 664 034

DUNCAN HARTCONSULTING

Ideas and Implementation

• Performance management for professional service firms • Planning for results – Marketing and business planning • Building firm-wide capabilities and competencies • Interim management •Creating client focussed strategies for growth • Individual and leadership coaching • Creating and leading effective teams • Managing the role of corporate counsel • Retreat and conference management