Leading Strategy
The Practice
May/June 2023
How do law firms think about strategy? Using quantitative and qualitative data, this issue explores the growing world of formalized strategy thinking to understand movement across the industry.
May/June 2023
Introducing the May 2023 Issue
In this issue, we delve into the variety of ways that law firms and lawyers understand and execute on strategy.
Leading the Way
The movement of firms in the Am Law 100 during the past six years provokes the question: why did some far outpace the pack? What differences were present that allowed them to improve their strategic positioning vis-à-vis their competitors? From interviews with firm chairs, Robert Couture identifies a rather simple commonality that surpasses all the other elements of success: ownership and passion.
Preparing to Steer the Ship
How does an upcoming law firm chair view strategy? In this conversation, Bob Couture speaks to Seyfarth Shaw Chair and Managing Partner-Elect Lorie Almon about how she sees strategy and plans for her upcoming leadership.
Animating Strategy for Lawyers
When law schools prepare students for the profession, they are often missing a key ingredient: strategy. Courtroom strategy is one thing, but lawyers who lead practice areas or firms require a solid understanding of business strategy. Executive education has stepped in to fill the gap.
The Chief Strategy Officer
Over the past decade, a number of major law firms have created new executive roles focused specifically on strategy. Who are these chief strategy officers? What experiences prepare them for the role? We talk to three law firm strategy officers to gain a better understanding of the emerging position.
Strategy, Professionalism, and Passion
Pierre Gentin is chief legal officer and senior partner at the management consulting firm, McKinsey & Co. In this conversation, he talks about his background across consulting, government, law firms, and in-house and how each experience gave him new outlooks on strategy.
