Unlocking Growth Through Collaboration: Essential Strategies for Small to Midsize Law Firms

In my experience as a Chief Strategy and Business Development Officer for firms of various sizes, and now as a collaborative growth consultant, I’ve learned that improving collaboration is equally crucial for small to midsize firms.

Small and midsize firms, often self-described as “smaller but mighty,” serve specific regions with dominant offices and a few nationally ranked practices. Despite their compact structure, these firms frequently face internal miscommunications or less effective teams that frustrate managing partners who recognize the untapped potential for growth. The need to maximize collective capabilities to achieve greater returns on investments in talent and meet more complex client needs to protect and enhance relationships are common themes. As one managing partner aptly put it, “I need 1+1+1 to equal 5.”

THE COLLABORATION CHALLENGE

Many firms mistake a collegial culture for a collaborative one and struggle with challenges such as:

• Silos and Fragmented Efforts: Lawyers working independently lead to missed synergies and redundant efforts.
• Underutilized Business Development Potential: Without collaboration, firms miss out on new business opportunities and fail to showcase the full breadth of services to existing clients.

Creating a culture of collaboration requires aligning several activities and investments to ensure collaboration is easy and consistent.

• Unrecognized Talent: New laterals, valuable associates, and lawyers with relevant expertise often remain unknown or underutilized in time-sensitive and trust-building business development and staffing situations.
• Lack of Collaborative Practice Teams: Leaders struggle with engagement, teamwork and advancing strategic plans.

STRATEGIES FOR ENHANCING COLLABORATION

To overcome these challenges, small and midsize firms need intentional strategies, such as:

1. Align Growth Priorities: Share annual business development plans to identify overlapping priorities and foster effective collaboration.
2. Leverage Technology: Use searchable databases for clients, relationships, experience and skills to enhance coordinated pursuits.
3. Standardize Processes: Implement a unified business development methodology for streamlined collaboration.
4. Foster Knowledge Sharing: Encourage cross-practice knowledge sharing through collaborative team agendas and discussions.
5. Develop Collaborative Leaders: Train leaders to orchestrate coordination and foster a collaborative culture.

CREATING A COLLABORATIVE GROWTH CULTURE

Creating a culture of collaboration requires aligning several activities and investments to ensure collaboration is easy and consistent. The momentum typically begins with an assessment to identify barriers, focusing on projects that address significant barriers and deliver immediate value. Research by Dr. Heidi Gardner, author of "Smart Collaboration" and "Smarter Collaboration," indicates at least a dozen barriers to collaboration. These barriers have evolved in the post-crisis period, as observed in my client work. The key is to identify which barriers should be addressed first in a coordinated manner by all leaders and administrative departments.

Below are some client examples of creating momentum for greater collaboration:

1. Improving Practice Team Effectiveness: One firm surveyed all lawyers and administrative leaders to understand the state of collaboration. By reaffirming business development, client service and talent development expectations, and establishing a streamlined planning and budgeting process, they improved practice team collaboration and developed a key account management program.
2. Maximizing Strategic Assets: Another firm implemented an enterprise relationship management system, growing known relationships by 400% and formalizing industry teams to develop high potential clients and referral partners.
3. Identifying Client Collaboration Opportunities: A firm focused on individual partner collaboration success, performing a “white space report” to identify specific collaboration opportunities and providing coaching to pursue these opportunities, thereby generating revenue and addressing collaboration barriers.
4. Building Trust: Addressing trust issues in a high lateral growth environment, a firm reevaluated all gatherings and meetings, including establishing "monthly lunch pairings," unique lawyers introductions, and co-content development projects to foster trusting relationships, leading to a collaborative culture.

WHY IT MATTERS

Collaboration is key to unlocking your firm’s full potential. You can’t mandate collaboration, but you can orchestrate it where it matters most. By breaking down silos and fostering a collaborative culture, small to midsize firms can enhance business development efforts, attract and retain laterals and clients, and drive sustainable growth to punch above your weight class.