{"id":4905,"date":"2021-07-13T13:42:39","date_gmt":"2021-07-13T13:42:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tpcleadership.com\/it-it\/uncategorized\/underestimating-leadership\/"},"modified":"2025-04-21T17:38:32","modified_gmt":"2025-04-21T16:38:32","slug":"underestimating-leadership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tpcleadership.com\/it-it\/leader-in-via-di-sviluppo\/underestimating-leadership\/","title":{"rendered":"The tyranny of billable hours: Why law firms can underestimate leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"

Each sector brings with it its own unique leadership challenges. Whether due to regulations, legacy practices, new market disruptors, regional factors or cultural expectations, the pressures leaders face are rarely identical.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Few understand the leadership challenges of law firms more than Richard Macklin<\/a>. Former Global Vice Chair and Global Client Partner at Dentons, the world\u2019s largest law firm, he is a leading authority on law firm strategy and market positioning. We sat down with him to get his perspective on the future of law firm leadership.<\/span><\/p>\n

Typically, lawyers put their focus on working billable hours, on personal revenue generation, and on technical excellence. But for reasons that Richard unpacks, these are the wrong priorities entirely.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Leadership is not about management<\/b><\/h2>\n

\u201cThe truth is that lawyers generally don\u2019t value leadership,\u201d says Richard. \u201cNor do they understand the difference between leadership and management.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Because, broadly speaking, lawyers tend to focus on minutiae rather than the big picture, Richard says they rarely see the value in vision builders. Instead they end up equating leadership with management, as a kind of unnecessary link in an otherwise self-organising machine.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was co-leading the\u00a0<\/span>C<\/span>orporate Practice,\u201d says Richard, \u201cthe problem was, and still is, that people would imagine I was spending 50% of my time counting the paperclips. Of course, what we were <\/span>trying<\/span><\/i> to do was build a vision, but others often didn\u2019t understand the value of such work.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The value of this leadership was seen in the results though. Richard, along with a small team, helped build his firm from the 164th largest to <\/span>the<\/span><\/i> largest law firm in the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

Technical excellence is not a differentiator<\/b><\/h2>\n

Part of the reason lawyers underestimate leadership, Richard explains, is that they value technical excellence over other skills. For them, it\u2019s often all about knowing the minutiae. They are brilliant at spotting opportunities in the detail that can swing a trial, but they don\u2019t tend to notice larger opportunities in the market.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLawyers have difficulty believing that technical excellence is not a differentiator,\u201d says Richard. \u201cGranted you do have the magic circle, the silver circle, and so on. But within each peer group, technical excellence is actually a commodity because every firm has it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

So if technical excellence is not your product, what is? \u201cIt\u2019s your delivery,\u201d Richard says. \u201cThe way you respond to what a client wants and needs. They\u2019ll assume you have a great product because if you don\u2019t, you\u2019ll get sued for it anyway. What they care about is how you\u2019re going to partner with them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

When law firms rely on technical excellence to differentiate them, their market positioning is often ineffective, and they can end up depending on an already-established client base \u2013 one that might have provided plenty of business throughout the pandemic, but isn\u2019t so loyal that they won\u2019t jump at the chance of a better deal elsewhere, particularly now that same pandemic might have crippled them financially.<\/span><\/p>\n

Richard says: \u201cNow that we\u2019re facing an even greater economic shock than the Lehman\u2019s collapse, clients are going to want more for less and there\u2019s more chance of getting it now. Ever since the Lehman Brothers collapse clients have been screaming for value-based billing and cost certainty.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

This legacy practice of billable hours is a big issue. It doesn\u2019t just pain clients, but can prevent law firms from raising a greater profit too.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Leadership is meant to raise profitability\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

Billable hours can turn the legal profession into a pursuit of immediate results. The value of leadership feels less tangible compared to the hard numbers generated by hours billed. But when we\u2019re chasing revenue in such a narrow way, we can miss out on greater opportunities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a no brainer,\u201d says Richard. \u201cIf one partner is able to increase profits by, say, 20% by\u00a0 redirecting 50% of their billable hours time into leadership matters, they\u2019re making the firm more profitable across the board. You lose 50% of one lawyer\u2019s billable hours, but you make much greater gains elsewhere.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

There is an element of risk in such an equation, but the potential rewards are far more lucrative. To increase profitability, you can\u2019t just maximise business-as-usual efficiency, you have to look at the bigger picture.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Richard points to data as a better indicator of performance than hours billed. If you\u2019re able to roll out a strategy and analyse how the profits are impacted over time, the results may persuade lawyers to stop underestimating the value of leadership. There\u2019s no doubt that there\u2019s a risk there, but the opportunity might be too big to miss.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Looking to make an impact in your department or firm? <\/span>Get in touch<\/span><\/a> to find out how TPC can help.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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