Drop the magical thinking. That's what the latest figures from The Survey of Law Firm Economics tell lawyers. For two years in a row, reports David Brown in THE NATIONAL LAW JOURNAL, revenues have been down for small and midsize law firms. No, that niche, which was supposed to be a safe harbour for lawyers, has not proved out to be invulnerable to the paradigm shifts happening in BigLaw. Clearly, it is a hustle in all aspects of earning a decent living as a lawyer. If consultants like Hildebrandt, Baker and Robbins are on the money, it will continue to be for a long long time.
That's why all lawyers, no matter their particular setting, have to become very smart at playing the game. Being excellent at lawyering is barely the price of entry any more. What counts more are the moves made to develop new business and retain current clients. [Here's my talk on that for ExecSense Download Rainmaking.]
Two useful guides on approaching the name totally strategically and then tactically are HOW LIFE IMITATES CHESS: MAKING THE RIGHT MOVES FROM THE BOARD TO THE BOARDROOM by Gary Kasparov and YOUR CAREER GAME by Nathan Bennett and Stephan A. Miles. For example, one classic move is to vary our moves. Sticking to the same approaches in rainmaking leaves lawyers open to attack by competitors who understand your strengths and weaknesses and formulate their moves for the account based on that. That kind of transparency is making previous effective players appear like fools in the new marketplace.
Tip: If you are pitching for business and not getting it, take a time-out, and bone up on game theory. Likely you're doing a lot of things wrong for the current times.
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