In Three myths about legal services offshoring (The Hindu) there is some very very sobering information especially for those who hope that it means offshoring will just fade away sooner or later.

If you intend to practice law for 10 or more years then:   READ THE ARTICLE

Here are some teasers/excerpts:

"Attacks on the competence of Indian lawyers and law graduates are about as valid as saying that Indian software engineers are incapable of handling sophisticated IT (information technology) work. To the contrary, the Indian IT industry is a world leader, and the same will be the case with offshored legal services."

"A recent study conducted by Harvard Law School and LexisNexis reveals that 75 per cent of US law graduates admit they do not have the necessary skills to practise law."

"So you would expect that these deficiencies would be met by rigorous training programs undertaken by Western law firms. Guess again! The Harvard-LexisNexis study reveals that 64 per cent of young lawyers receive no organised, on-the-job training."

"By contrast, reputable legal services offshoring companies in India provide rigorous training to their lawyers, and the hours spent on training do not appear on invoices to clients."  

"…at least in the US, law graduates for the most part are notoriously incapable of writing effectively in English. The problem is so severe that some large US law firms now assign a writing coach to each incoming associate. However, most lawyers in the West never receive this kind of training. By contrast, reputable legal services offshoring companies in India train all their attorneys in English writing."

"The future of the legal services offshoring industry in India appears very bright."

"Corporations, not Western law firms, will drive the market in the years ahead."

"Another way that corporations will drive the market, indirectly, is by obtaining flat (or fixed) rate billing from their outside counsel, instead of hourly billing. For example, the mega law firm, Morgan Lewis & Bockius, now handles all of the litigation for Cisco Systems for a fixed annual fee."

"Every sector of the legal offshoring industry will grow dramatically, including lower end services, such as document coding and legal transcription. Ultimately, however, the biggest impact, the long-term mother lode, will be higher-value services such as legal research and drafting – services that constitute the bulk of the legal work now done in the West."

"Long-term, India’s enormous, mostly untapped population of over one billion citizens will continue to make India competitive in relation to other offshore destinations… ultimately it will not only decrease poverty, but increase the number of law graduates."

"On the most positive note, the growth and development of the legal offshoring industry in India will help bring about a major change in the way legal services are delivered in the West."


The September 2007 McKinsey Quarterly has an interesting article called: The Evolving Role of the CMO by David Court who discusses four areas of change for the CMO:

  • Changing to reflect new consumer [client?] buying behavior
  • Shaping the Company’s [Firm’s?] public profile
  • Managing Complexity
  • Building new Marketing Capabilities

Before concluding, David discusses how the CEO [Managing partner?] can help.  This advice touches three areas

  • Take time to understand what’s really happening with customers [clients?]
  • Foster the right connection between the CMO’s efforts and those other parts of the organization
  • Be a "thought partner" for the CMO as he or she transforms the marketing organization.

PUNCHLINE:  I know The Evolving Role of the CMO was not written for law firm CMO’s but then again how much of real quality is.  If you are a serious CMO in a serious law firm, get your librarian to acquire this for you and, if I am right, you will then want to ask your Managing Partner to read it (11 pages including graphics etc) and have a meeting with you to discuss the benefits the two of you can achieve from selectively implementing the David Court’s suggestions.  I am well aware that many CMO’s do not have the influence they deserve inside their law firms – this may be a helpful tool on the path to acquiring it.

NOTE:  General access to McKinsey Quarterly is free but requires registration and log-in – for recommended article, premium (paid) subscription is required.

As most Managing Partners are aware, during 25 years as CEO of GE, Jack Welch added more value than any other CEO in history.  Accordingly, some folks think it worthwhile to analyze what Jack Welch did that fueled those exemplary results.

Much has been written about him and by him but now there us a book called:  What Made jack welch JACK WELCH: How Ordinary People Become Extraordinary Leaders by Stephen H. Baum and Dave Conti.  (I borrowed from this title in naming this post because I believe that Managing Partners might find this analysis helpful.)

Here is an excerpt from a blog post today on Management Craft, Discussions About State of the Art Management which highlights an article called Shaping Experiences by one of the book’s authors, Stephen H. Baum. 

This excerpt from the article is what I believe may be a useful self-assessment checklist for managing partners:

"Archetypal shaping experiences contribute to the cake turning out well. The ten broad categories of shaping experiences are listed below and are shown with a brief definition and explanatory quotes from the leaders I interviewed for this book:

1. Swim in Water over Your Head. Take a calculated personal risk without specific knowledge of how to succeed.
"You gotta do things outside your comfort zone. On purpose."?
"I figured I’d get beat up pretty good in this fistfight, but I had to do it. I got a big lump on my head, but I didn’t die."

2. Make the Tough Choice. Choose group benefit over personal interest, or choose between two "rights."
"Sometimes you have to take a good friend off the team and make him feel okay about it. Or do it anyway."

3. Solve the Key Puzzle. Even if it is not your job, figure out the root of the problem or opportunity.?
"Sometimes the crowd runs in circles. You have to concentrate and see what everything hangs on — even if it is not your accountability."

4. Parent at Work. Help others to grow and to perform exceptionally.?
"You learn a lot from your parents and by parenting your own children; sometimes thinking as Mom or Dad at work helps."?
"Ask what you would do if your people were family — you get some good approaches."?
"Treat your employees as you would want your children treated."

5. Sell Something/Get Others to Buy In. Win hearts and minds to create followers.?
"Sell an idea. You’ll be doing it a lot."?
"Get people to vote with their feet, part with their money — it’s what life is all about."

6. Connect with Others. Understand what motivates others — walk the talk and speak their language. Enlist them as much by your deeds as by your words.?
"This plane will get fixed a lot faster if the mechanics want it to. It won’t fix itself."
"A lot of bosses treat their people like they’re nobodies. My guys do their best because it’s about us, not about me."

7. Build a Team. Gather and lead a group in a common endeavor, and succeed. Or fail at first and try again. Get average players to play like stars. Add new members and weed out underperformers. Set direction and change it while keeping the team together.?
"When you have to deliver, you need experience in selecting people and getting them on the same page."?
"Pickup football taught me how to handicap horses — who will perform and who will not."

8. Get Good on Your Feet. Learn to communicate, dialogue, and project your authenticity in real time.?
"I was the leader of the singing group. That is when I got used to speaking in front of others. It came in handy later."
"I ran for student council. That’s when I learned to handle the hecklers."?
"I wanted to create an atmosphere of fun around a serious proposition. I organized and led a parade in the building. It not only did what I wanted, it also got me noticed in a good way by the boss."

9. Develop Your Crap Detector. Practice your intuitive ability to read subtexts of conversations and to detect individuals whose words and behaviors are not what they pretend them to be.?
"In the military police, we had to ask questions and make quick judgments about people — a guy who seemed real nice might have beaten someone up a few minutes earlier."

10. Look in the Mirror. Assess your own values, beliefs, and behaviors critically.?
"I didn’t want to hear it, but the criticism made me look inside myself. I changed my career, headed for operations. "?
"He made me see my passion — it’s why I stayed in this field against all odds."?
"He told me I’d never make partner if I could not disagree without being disagreeable."

See the full blog post here or order the book here.

Incidentally, about Stephen Baum:

"Stephen H. Baum has been an adviser and coach to CEOs for more than twenty years, first as a partner with Booz Allen & Hamilton, the global consultancy — where beyond the client work he was also on the appraisal and development committee and mentored young associates — then as an independent practitioner."


Two notes of optimism today for the legal profession:

“Forget the old stereotypes of law firms as inhospitable to women,” said Suzanne Riss, Editor in Chief, Working Mother magazine.  “As Working Mother examined the practices of many of the nation’s law firms, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that a number have been quietly changing their policies in recent years to reflect changes that are afoot in society as a whole.  The 2007 Working Mother & Flex-Time Lawyers Best Law Firms for Women are making women’s issues a priority, and the success of their policies will hopefully become reflected in the number of women, from associates all the way up to partners.”

See the full press release including the 50 Best Law firms for Women  (Note – this is a PDF)

More than three-quarters of the UK’s top 50 law firms have introduced flexible working… Regional-based firm Mills & Reeves tops the table in terms of numbers of fee-earners taking up flexible working in the last year, according to a poll conducted by The Lawyer. Of the firm’s 407 fee-earners, 153 are no longer working traditional nine to five hours. This is the equivalent of 38 per cent of the workforce.

See the full story: Top UK firms embrace flexible working   (UK’s: The Lawyer.com)

Punchline:  It’s refreshing to read about some significant progress in this area – I grow weary of those who suffer from "hardening of the attitudes".

At Edge International we are often asked about how lawyers and their firms might be different from place to place around the world.    One of my stock answers is that many people misinterpret the propensity of the Brits to avoid hyperbole to mean that they are not aggressive.  There is a reason why they once ruled the world and their legal profession seems to be bent on repeating the feat.

According to a post today at LAWFUEL, "Lovells, the law firm, is to launch an alliance with nine Chinese counterparts, in the latest sign of the English legal profession’s aggressive efforts to export its services to big economies where foreign lawyers are restricted."  (Note, not one or two or three, but NINE!

As well, "China is one of a number of leading emerging economies being lobbied by the British government and legal industry representatives to scrap restrictions on foreign lawyers."

PUNCHLINE:  The Brits have never stopped thinking globally – many Americans have not started.  (There are notable exceptions of course but if I were placing a bet on world domination, my gold coin goes on the British square.)  Your thoughts?




       Mike Dillon

Would you listen to the General Counsel of Sun Microsystems, if he said:

“I do believe that there may be times when a $1,000/hour fee is warranted”

“…just yesterday, I read of another example of how law firms continue to be primarily focused on maintaining profits through consolidation and growth of headcount. As a GC, what I’d rather see is an article about how law firms are creating new business models that reflect the reality of my organization – providing consistently high quality of service with a constant focus on efficiency.”

“As recently as four years ago, we had several hundred (that’s always embarrassing for me to say) law firms that we used for general purpose legal work in the United States. Since then, we have been aggressively reducing this number to the point that this year we announced that we are moving to nine "Preferred Partner" firms.”

“…we are already seeing examples where … firms are proposing creative pricing models and investing in better understanding our business.”

“…we needed to have about 10,000 agreements reviewed and summarized for an on-line database. We send out an RFP to a large number of firms and through this process filtered the number of candidates down to a handful. These were then invited to participate in an on-line competition for the work. During the course of the event, it was fascinating to see firms from around the world compete to win the business. (If you’ve ever sold anything on eBay, you know the feeling.)”

“…we quietly started a small team several years ago called "GLN" (Global Legal Services). They are focused on efficiently handling the less complex, but higher volume agreements and services we provide.”

The above quotes are from a single blog post called: Context is everything by Mike Dillon
Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Sun Legal Department of
Sun Microsystems, Inc.: .

PUNCHLINE:  Managing Partners – do you dare not read his future blog posts?


The despised business of videoconferencing is about to get a new lease on life.

This weeks Economist has an article on Telepresence.  The full title is “Behold, telepresence – Far away yet strangely personal”.  (Requires subscription).  Image above is from the article.

Here are a few excerpts to whet your appetite for the story – the headings are mine:

The Problem:

Videoconferencing was supposed to put an end to corporate travel. But positioning people in front of a camera, fiddling endlessly with controls and then either giving up or proceeding to stare at a tiny picture of a blurry face often seems less satisfactory than the humble telephone.

The Solution:

Designers want people in telepresence meetings to appear life-sized, and the tables and rooms at the two ends to blend together seamlessly. (Rooms, furniture and even wallpaper are often identical, to aid the illusion.) People must also feel that they are making eye contact, which involves multiple cameras and enormous computing power. The delays in sight and sound must be negligible (ie, below 250 milliseconds, the threshold at which the human brain starts to notice), so that people can interrupt each other naturally. Sound must be perceived to come from the direction of the person speaking. And getting things started must be simple—ideally involving a single button or none at all.

Saving Money and Time (law firm example driven by client):

In addition to saving money, Cisco argues that telepresence saves time. The firm recently completed a takeover in eight days (as opposed to the usual weeks or months) by putting the lawyers in telepresence rooms instead of on aeroplanes.

More examples:

Lee Scott, the boss of Wal-Mart, the world’s biggest retailer, is said to see great scope for improving his supply chain. DreamWorks, a Hollywood studio that helped HP develop its telepresence system, says the technology will help it make movies cheaper and faster, by allowing creative types to collaborate without travelling.

My Punchline:

Managing Partners – don’t think about this opportunity from the law firm’s perspective but rather your client’s.  You may have some clients who will acquire this technology and will want you to participate – I welcome this as I believe that most law firm technology comes because the clients want us to have it (sometimes, “insist”).   If top corporations in your markets populate your client list, perhaps you should become familiar enough with this technology to initiate the discussion with your major clients.  After all, wouldn’t it be refreshing for your client to believe of you that your firm is progressive enough to be at the forefront?

Footnote (Greetings from Uruguay):  Speaking of technology and the world becoming more virtual, I posted this blog entry from my hotel room in Montevideo, Uruguay following an assignment with an MDP (accounting and law) firm here.  The Economist arrived promptly on my desk top this morning and I was able to effortlessly post this story.  Perhaps before too long I will be able to conduct the kind of assignment I traveled here for by video conference.

About The Economist: You can of course buy the hard copy or subscribe on line. This story is marked: Aug 23rd 2007 | SAN FRANCISCO? From The Economist print edition