Law firms prepare to mimic corporate client structure in future
The big trend expected to spread across many law firms in the next five years is a move to the corporate structure used by many of their clients – a shift from the last five years in which the dominant trend was one of developing new risk strategies.
Research by BDO, published in a report called ‘Law Firm Governance’, shows that 100% of 54 senior executives of law firms report that their firms put risk management at the top of the agenda for change in the last five years. In the next five, the top trend is moving towards a more corporate structure (cited by 22%), followed by retaining the culture of partnership with partners seeing themselves as remaining the main shareholders.
More business-like structures
The other main expected trends are the greater involvement of non-lawyers and increasing use of non-executive directors and external experts. Matthew White, leader of the international professional services team at BDO, said: ‘Governance at law firms has been overlooked for too long. The legal sector is moving to a buyer’s market and as law firms try to differentiate themselves from the competition, they’ll find that governance will become a distinguishing factor. The global recession has been a game changer for C-suites across the world. However, it’s clear that this was just a catalyst and the boards will continue to evolve in the coming years. Those law firms that are prepared to actively review and challenge their approach to governance – implementing more business-like structures, seeking skills outside of the legal industry, and nimbly negotiating the client demands – will find themselves standing out from the crowd.’
Source: Global Legal Post – Law firms prepare to mimic corporate client structure in future
