Linklaters ItemIn a post at Legal Business, Matthew Field reports that Linklaters is about to “phase out individual partner metrics and annual assessments to focus on broader measures of team and firm performance.” The new performance-assessment strategy will focus on such areas as “client winning, business development, training and innovation,” Field says.

Based in London, Linklaters has 29 offices in 20 countries, with around 450 partners and 2600 attorneys in total. Like it or not, UK-led firms have dominated the world in past decades. This imaginative move by Linklaters to focus on team performance may offer them a huge competitive advantage over the American-style firm. The latter cannot seem to resist individual metrics – which lead inescapably to at least some internal competition.
I believe what Linklaters is doing is right, and I hope this strategy wins, and becomes a role model for many others to emulate.
As always, I welcome your thoughts on this or any other matter related to the law, either in the comments section below or directly via email.