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Strategic Planning: Look Before You Leap

By Darryl Cross
May 01, 2004

The market is asking a great deal of law firms these days. The economy is still unpredictable, clients are demanding additional value at the same costs, and client loyalty is not what it used to be. As a result, many firms are struggling with instituting internal management controls that emphasize profitability and synergy in addition to practice excellence.

Frankly, the move by law firms to become more strategically oriented is reactionary. If you ask most lawyers, they did not expect management and planning to be a part of their daily duties when they entered law school. While some have embraced their new role, very few have done it before. An even smaller fraction is formally educated in the discipline of building strong businesses.

According to a 2001 study conducted by the Legal Marketing Association, over 59% of the nation's top law firms have formal, written strategic plans. However, the same study shows that only a small minority of firms actually conduct any form of client interviews and outside market research. Therefore, many of the formal plans that are being created are what the firm wants to be in its own image. While this is not unexpected from organizations conducting their first foray into planning, it is not true strategy. For most, it is a wish list, and many other firms are wishing on the same star.

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