Understanding Your Firm's Organizational Culture As a Path to Success

For many law firms, culture is often thrown into this change basket without giving proper thought as to whether it is actually advantageous or aligned with strategy. One reason for this is that climate, which comprises the more temporal and subjective reported experiences of individuals within a firm, can be confused with culture, which comprises long-term, widely held common expectations within a firm that explain why those experiences happen. And, given the complexity of the owner-manager structure of a law partnership, where more voices are heard at the same volume than in a hierarchical corporation, the positive fundamentals of culture can be more difficult to identify.

So before throwing the baby out with the bathwater, firm leaders should understand who they are, and what competitive advantages result from this cultural understanding. Not only will this approach allow more effective positioning overall for the firm, it will also put the firm in a position of strength to attract and retain high-value lateral partners and groups. The encouraging reality is that culture is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. And as partners move away from indistinguishable platitudes of “cooperation” and “collegiality,” and take a more honest look at their firms, a properly identified culture can be embraced and leveraged to deliver value to all stakeholders.