The managing partner’s dilemma

Ask any managing partner what creates the greatest angst in their firm and a common reply will be people. Margaret Ford, chief executive of Good Practice Ltd, examines the problems of this sensitive area and considers what steps managing partners can take to better manage their workforce.

The very traits that make great fee earners outstanding - vision, persistence, client obsession and a degree of intellectual arrogance - are exactly those traits that also make them high maintenance, non-compliant individuals. All too frequently, they are disdainful of management in all its forms.

Ask them why they didn’t show up at your strategy weekend and they will point to their last quarter’s record billings. Ask them why their trainee has gone off ill with stress and they’ll point to six others who have ‘cut it’. Ask them about their approach to precedent management and they’ll scoff that what makes them brilliant (and costly) is their individual take on issues and the personal value that they add.

Of course, the dilemma for managing partners is whether to take action. In an age when more firms are accepting the value of a professional approach to management issues, and especially HR issues, is it appropriate or necessary to encourage ‘successful’ fee earners to change their behaviour?

The case for change

Many firms are completely convinced that it is. Jo Larbie, one of the UK’s most respected development professionals, is unequivocal. “The difference between good results and outstanding performance is down to how well lawyers manage and motivate their people. The effectiveness with which firms manage, develop, motivate and involve the people who work for them is a key determinant in how well those businesses perform. Managing people well is not an option.”

As a former solicitor and adviser to many of the UK’s top firms, Larbie is no starry-eyed commentator. She has a fifteen-year track record of pointing to the benefits of developing lawyers in wider business and management competence.

Steven Scates, head of property for Altheimer and Gray agrees. He is typical of the new breed of senior lawyer who sees management and business acumen as a very natural part of the role. “All partners need to manage and senior lawyers need to accept that they are in business. In particular, they need to understand:

The economic environment;
Where to apply energy to attract and keep good quality work;
Finance, especially how to increase the bottom line;
How to find, develop and retain the very best people.”

Scates firmly believes that effective management development is at the heart of creating a culture where lawyers understand they are in business and what this means. He is clear that this is absolutely not in conflict with the aspirations of the ‘star’ fee earner.

“Producing great billings and being an effective manager are not mutually exclusive. Quite the reverse,” he says. His view is that productivity is built on three pillars: identifying high quality business, having that business carried out at the right level in the team, and delivering client service that guarantees repeat assignments. But he warns: “Shifting the culture needs clarity, effort and support.”

How do you make the shift in culture?

Many firms are investing in high quality HR professionals to help managing partners drive this process of change. Pauline Wyatt- Ingram is head of operations and development at CMS Cameron McKenna, and is a passionate and articulate advocate for change. Highly intelligent and with a wealth of top class HR experience behind her, she brings a strong business focus to the HR and management agenda. “With a number of excellent lawyers in the marketplace, the development of core management, client development and influencing skills is a key differentiator.” Wyatt-Ingram is firmly of the view that quality, business focused training and development is the key to success.

“Persuading our lawyers that training and development is time well spent can be difficult. They are obviously keen to ensure that their time is best used in the interest of their clients and of course we appreciate that fully. So it is essential that our work is highly relevant and adds value. The word is getting around that we are delivering some excellent and useful material and as a result we are experiencing increased numbers looking to attend our programmes and asking for other forms of support.”

Is top-quality HR enough?

Although top firms are now appreciating the value of having high-quality HR professionals in place, their presence in the firm is a necessary but not sufficient condition for change. The lead should come from the head of the firm and, in this, managing partners are no different from any other chief executive. In every sector, chief executives have to identify and assess the worth of management philosophies and processes. Separating the latest trend from the really worthwhile initiative is an important judgement call, and adopting a management style and approach that is relevant for your firm is worth taking time over. Nothing jars more with intelligent professionals than a sense that they are being subjected to the latest management fad, which will disappear having consumed much effort and resource in its wake.

The managing partner’s role is therefore to create a culture that marries business focus with effective management in a compelling way and to bring forward a few, valuable tools for managing the firm.

Business planning is not an end in itself; rather it is a framework for partners to identify quality business. Keep it simple;
Annual appraisal should be a guide for staff to help them contribute and develop, not a tedious paperchase. Keep it simple;
Knowledge management should be an enabling process for managing precedents that saves you time and effort, and increases profit. Keep it simple;
Client relationship management should be a way of focusing on client feedback and opportunities, not an IT system that constantly needs feeding. Keep it simple;
Training and development should be seen as the essence of professionalism, not an intrusion into the real business. Keep it simple.

If firms have a clear framework for management, excellent professionals will enhance and deliver it for you. Ultimately, however, your task as a managing partner is to shape and foster the culture that is right for your firm. It is a responsibility that cannot readily be abrogated.

Margaret Ford is the chief executive of Good Practice Ltd an online publisher of management resources. She can be contacted at: mford@goodpractice.net