Each December, I look back on my consulting practice and try to make sense of the year. In 2012, management unease and indecision fueled by uncertainty reached an all-time high in companies and law firms. It inspired lots of benchmarking, as executives asked “what’s everyone else doing?” In-house counsel worldwide worried about not meeting demand, while outside lawyers lamented over supply. General counsel say everyone wants a lawyer on hand these days, but with territories and complexity growing as budgets shrink, something’s got to give. 

The effort to do more, better, is driving change. Wherever you go, senior corporate counsel are reengineering their law departments. Dust and debris swirls as we move through this perfect storm of globalization, regulatory risk, multipolar growth, and a turbulent, wounded economy. In the dust, the road ahead for international law firms looks pretty clear to me.

Since 2008, I’ve mostly consulted with in-house counsel in Global 1,000 companies. From my Brussels and New York offices (plus planes, trains, and Skype), I’m in constant contact with general counsel and their teams around the world. I still stay close to (and work with) global law firms, who made up the lion’s share of my practice from the mid-nineties until a few years ago. Reinforcing my views are the findings of a major study I ran this year for a law firm network (World Law Group), with senior in-house counsel of large multinationals from more than 30 countries responding. All this inspired me to prepare this 2013 “to-do” list.
  
The “do’s” are for firms with international offices, and firms with hopes of serving domestic clients internationally and foreign clients at home. I believe that if you make progress on these things, you will win more business and grow confidently into the future. If you don’t address these things, I’m afraid your firm may slide down the rankings as your profit margins shrink.  

1)  Inhabit your client’s world; they want you there. Your clients in corporations around the world are busy rethinking and reworking every aspect of making and delivering legal services. While they’ll proceed with or without you, they’d like to have their preferred firms at their side. Unfortunately many of you are simply not involved enough in their world. Their focus is not just the legal part—it’s how legal advice is sourced and delivered in the company. 

Make time to talk with clients and find out exactly what their in-house legal teams are up to. Schedule a meeting at their offices. Explain that you want to make sure your firm understands their priorities and goals as you support them in the coming year, and they’ll likely be happy to talk. After this conversation, figure out a few specific ways that your firm can help. Typically clients don’t know how you can help, so you must be proactive with specific ideas and recommendations.
 
For example, if their focus is to better manage resources to cover growing demand, you could help them better identify and prioritize risks. Your key practices working in the client’s industry could review their “risk list,” and suggest ones they see other clients facing that may not yet be on their radar. Or you may want to present to them a few ways that your firm has helped other clients that are also working to improve resource management.
 
General counsel of the world’s largest companies overwhelmingly agreed in the global study I mentioned that “closer integration with the business” is the key element to improving in-house counsels’ performance. Figure out how you can support your client’s objectives to integrate better with the business. For example, armed with an understanding of the client’s greatest risks, your firm could conduct basic benchmarking with other clients. Then the in-house lawyers can present this information to their business colleagues to show how others are addressing similar risks, and compare what and where are the biggest concerns.
 
2)  Build project management tools, including financial accounting ones. Your clients want more certainty. Clients still love what you do for them, but many want to manage smarter so they can use you less. To nourish the relationship, your numbers must show you can deliver on your promises. Most of your firm’s financial and account management exists to give you (and The American Lawyer and the banks), productivity and profitability info. What’s in it for the client?